Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley blasted former President Barack Obama for claiming that she and GOP candidate Tim Scott were both downplaying systemic racism, the Washington Examiner reported.
In a recent appearance on David Axelrod’s CNN podcast, Obama dismissed the idea that Haley and Scott’s campaign is similar to his. He accused minorities in the Republican Party of downplaying racism when they point out that they succeeded in the country by working hard.
In an op-ed at the UK Daily Mail, the former South Carolina governor called out Obama, saying he should “have more hope and pride in America” as he was the country’s first black president. She added that she is “further proof” of the nation’s progress since she was the “first female minority governor” in the country’s history.
Haley argued that every child, no matter the race, should know that “they live in the best country in the world” where “they can grow up to be anything,” even President.
In her op-ed, Haley described Obama’s comments as “condescending,” arguing that she is proud of her parents for leaving India “to pursue the American dream.” She said her parents did work hard, and while they “faced racism,” they were able to overcome it.
Haley wrote that her parents taught their children “that even on our worst day, we are blessed to live in America.”
The 2024 GOP hopeful also suggested that Obama’s remarks imply that he thinks he is “the only minority who could be elected president.”
She noted that Obama’s 2008 campaign “was built around hope” in “America’s progress,” adding that Obama once had “pride in our country.”
While Haley said that the country should fight against racism, anti-Semitism, and discrimination and break the “barriers” blocking some from “sharing in America’s promise,” she laid the lack of progress on those issues at the feet of the Democrat Party.
She argued that if the Democrats have their way, every minority child will believe that they are “inferior and have no place in America.”
Haley vowed that as president, she would ensure that “every child has the best shot at the best life.”
