Florida Republican Representative Byron Donalds has slammed GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley after she flip-flopped on the cause of the US Civil War.
“1. Psst Nikki... the answer is slavery PERIOD,” Mr Donalds tweeted on Thursday. “2. This really doesn’t matter because Trump is going to be the nominee. Trump 2024!”
The former South Carolina governor and UN Ambassador avoided mentioning slavery when she was asked by a voter in New Berlin, New Hampshire, on Wednesday night what caused the Civil War.
“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. What do you think the cause of the Civil War was?” she said.
The man, who subsequently told reporters his name was Patrick, replied he wasn’t the one running for president.
“I mean, I think it always comes down to the role of government,” Ms Haley said. “We need to have capitalism, we need to have economic freedom. We need to make sure that we do all things so that individuals have the liberties so that they can have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do or be anything they want to be without government getting in the way.”
“In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you can answer that question without mentioning the word ‘slavery’,” the voter said.
“What do you want me to say about slavery? Next question,” Ms Haley said.
She later backtracked on her comments on Thursday morning during an appearance on The Pulse of NH radio programme.
“Of course, the Civil War was about slavery, that’s the easy part. I know it was about slavery. I am from the South,” she said.
“But more than that, what’s the lesson in all this? That freedom matters,” she added. “And individual rights and liberties matter for all people. That’s the blessing of America. That was a stain on America when we had slavery. But what we want is never relive it. Never let anyone take those freedoms away again.”
She went on to claim on the programme that the Democrats “are sending plants” to her events, according to the NH Journal.
“Why are they hitting me? See this for what it is ... They want to run against Trump. In town halls, I answer every question, and they are planting questions there,” she claimed.
“It was definitely a Democrat plant ... He didn’t give reporters his name,” she added of the questioner.
Mr Donalds has confirmed that he’s considering a run for governor in 2026 at the end of current Sunshine State governor and 2024 candidate Ron DeSantis’s second term.
The 45-year-old, who has already endorsed former President Donald Trump in the 2024 race, was one of nine Republicans who ran for speaker earlier this year following the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy but he received meagre support in votes behind closed doors among House Republicans.
Mr Donalds has previously called out Mr DeSantis for his administration’s policies on the teaching of Black history. He tweeted on 26 July: “The new African-American standards in [Florida] are good, robust, and accurate. That being said, the attempt to feature the personal benefits of slavery is wrong and needs to be adjusted. That obviously wasn’t the goal and I have faith that [the Florida Department of Education] will correct this.”
Mr Donalds also received some votes for speaker in January after he was nominated by Texas Rep Chip Roy amidst an attempt from hardliners in the House GOP to stop Mr McCarthy’s tenure before it had even begun, leading to Mr McCarthy needing 15 attempts to finally grasp the gavel.
Mr DeSantis also criticised Ms Haley on Thursday, saying, “Nikki Haley has had some problems with some basic American history … Not that difficult to identify and acknowledge the role slavery played in the Civil War”.
