Don Lemon has spoken out after Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley backtracked on her comments about the Civil War.
Haley neglected to mention slavery as the cause of the conflict while speaking at a town hall in Berlin, New Hampshire, on Dec. 27.
According to WSPA 7 News, the former governor of South Carolina was asked by a man in the audience, “What was the cause of the United States Civil War?” Haley seemed unprepared to answer the simple question as she replied, “Well, don’t come with an easy question or anything,” before stating that the government was the cause while failing to mention slavery.
“I mean, I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run, the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do,” Haley continued before returning a question back to the man. “What do you think the cause of the Civil War was?”
The man replied that he was not a candidate for president like Haley, but he would like to hear her thoughts.
“I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are,” she replied. “And I will always stand by the fact that I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people. Government doesn’t need to tell you how to live your life. They don’t need to tell you what you can and can’t do. They don’t need to be a part of your life.”
“In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word slavery,” the man told the former governor, prompting her to ask, “What do you want me to say about slavery?”
Haley’s poor answer received the attention of President Joe Biden, who shared a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “It was about slavery,” wrote the POTUS.
After Haley received backlash for her comments, the following day, she appeared on the radio show, “The Pulse of NH” and said, “Of course the Civil War was about slavery. We know that. That’s the easy part of it.”
Haley elaborated further during a town hall in North Conway by saying America had to answer “the moral question of whether slavery was a good thing” and if the government had a role to play. “By the grace of God, we did the right thing and slavery is no more. I say that as a Southerner. I say that as a Southern governor who removed the Confederate flag off the State House grounds,” she said.
Lemon weighed in on the matter on Dec. 28 after hearing her comments. The ousted CNN anchor was let go from the network some two months after he remarked that the 51-year-old GOP presidential candidate was no longer “in her prime” in February of this year.
At the time, Lemon was referencing Haley’s ageist comments about Biden, and in response, she made a post about a “Sexist middle-aged CNN anchor” without directly mentioning Lemon’s name. The 57-year-old referenced the incident in his X post.
“Nikki Haley wants grace for using a poor choice of words when, after I misspoke in some comments involving her, she didn’t offer me that same grace, immediately and very publicly took me to task, and then fundraised off of it,” he noted. “However, I’m glad she clarified what she should have said. And, In the spirit of the season, let’s see if her actions match her corrected words moving forward.”
Lemon later revealed he was terminated from CNN without warning in April after working for the network for nearly two decades. What led to Lemon’s firing has yet to be confirmed, but many have speculated that his remarks about Haley as well as his heated exchange with right-wing GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy may have contributed to his demise.
Following Lemon’s post, X users also weighed in on the controversy. One user suggested that Lemon was too easy on Haley, writing, “You are too kind to that woman. In my view, she did not clarify her statement but rather made it worse. By the way, I no longer watch CNN.”
Another user noted that Lemon was referencing the South Carolina native’s ageist comments about Biden, yet his comments received the most backlash. “I was always bothered that Nikki Haley made the initial ageist comments but everyone focused on your response to her,” they wrote.
One user reminded folks about the wise words of the late poet Maya Angelou and replied, “What did Maya Angelou say? ‘The first time someone shows you who they are believe them.’ Nikki Haley has shown us just who she is. Believe her.”
After Haley asked the man at the town hall what she should say about slavery, he replied, “You’ve answered my question, thank you” before Haley moved on, “Next question.”
Haley is currently in a distant second place behind former President Donald J. Trump in the Republican race for the White House. But many are aware of the past scrutiny she’s received for remarks about the Civil War and her previous support of the Confederate flag.
Lemon further addresses his feelings towards Haley in an interview with TMZ, adding, “Haley may be much more dangerous than a Donald Trump.”
He said that with Trump people know what they are getting but no one has a clue what an administration under Haley would look like when it comes to addressing women’s rights, racism, abortion, etc. Lemon believes she picks and chooses when she wants to respond to the important issues and flip-flops on her stance with Trump.
