WASHINGTON (TND) — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley claimed she was a victim of racism in her early childhood during a recent interview, sparking outrage on social media.
Haley was born in the U.S. to two Sikh parents from India., USA Today reported. This, Haley claimed while speaking with NBC Sunday, caused her to have a difficult upbringing while growing up in South Carolina.
“We were the only Indian family in our small southern town,” the Republican said. “I was teased every day for being brown. So, anyone that wants to question it can go back and look at what I’ve said on how hard it was to grow up in the deep South as a brown girl.”
During the interview, Haley also noted her hesitancy to name slavery as a cause of the Civil War while on the campaign trail. The response, she said, was due to her believing such information is “an automatic.”
“If I didn’t mention slavery on that day, it’s because that’s an automatic,” she said. “The Civil War has always been know about slavery.”
Commenters on social media appeared to take objection to Haley’s story.
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“I'm more *brown* than Nimarata,” Kathy Barnette, the campaign director for Vivek Ramaswamy, said. “She grew up in the ‘deep’ south, I grew up in the *deeper* south in Southern Alabama on a pig farm in a house with no insulation, no running water, an out house in the back, and a well on the side... ... and I was NEVER teased EVERY day for being black. This is race baiting. This is ‘playing’ the race card."
"This is despicable, and my heart felt a little bit wounded for those who have actually faced and fought *real* racism," Barnette continued.“I came to America from Bombay, India at age 17 and have spent the past four decades in the most conservative precincts of American life,” commentator Dinesh D’Souza said. “I have never once been teased for being brown, and I’m browner than Nikki Haley. So what’s going on here?”
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“No you weren’t,” commentator Matt Walsh said while sharing a clip of Haley's interview.
All eyes have turned to Haley as fellow competitors for the GOP nomination Ramaswamy and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis each recently announced they would suspend their campaigns. She now awaits the results of the New Hampshire GOP primary, to be held Tuesday, where former President Donald Trump remains a heavy polling favorite.
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