Haley sparks a 2024 debate: Whether the U.S. is (or ever was) a racist country

With one answer in a TV interview, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley again ignited a campaign trail debate about racism and its role in America, putting the precarious politics of race front and center as the GOP nominating contests get underway.
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Just a few weeks after Haley’s comments about whether the Civil War was caused by slavery stirred controversy and division within her party’s ranks, Haley told Fox News on Tuesday that America is “not a racist country” and has “never been a racist country.”

“Are we perfect? No,” she added. “But our goal is to always make sure we try and be more perfect every day that we can.”

While Haley has acknowledged her experiences with racism growing up as a person of color, she — like other GOP presidential candidates this cycle — has doubled down on the belief that systemic racism does not exist in America, and that the nation is not racist. Haley has made similar comments for years, but the sentiments have taken on new life in a presidential election in which race seems to be at the center of many discussions on party politics.

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