June 28, 2023

Yes, Nikki Haley’s Attack on Obama Is Silly. It’s Also Very Telling.

Her recent broadside is as history-free as it is outrageous.

A photo collage of Nikki Haley and Barack Obama. Nikki Haley's photo has a red tint, and Barack Obama's photo is black-and-white.

Mother Jones illustration; Jason Lee/The Sun News/ZUMA; Karen Ballard/ZUMA; Joseph Bustos/TNS/ZUMA

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I get the sense that former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, along with other candidates of her ilk, find themselves most relevant when they’re sparking outrage. One of her recent nuggets of outrage-bait? Taking aim at Barack Obama, a president who hasn’t been on a ballot in over a decade.

Last week, in an op-ed in the British tabloid, the Daily Mail, Haley presented Obama as both a symbol of division and as evidence that America is not a racist country. That was news to me! For Haley, the proof (or lack thereof) hinges on his election, conveniently ignoring the stark disparities faced everyday by Black people and other people of color around the country. 

Haley argues that issues affecting the Black community are a result of Democratic party policies run amok. “They would rather tear down our country than admit their own errors and try a different way,” she writes. “If Democrats get their way, black and brown kids will think they’re inferior and have no place in our country.” But it didn’t take me long to discover while making this video that many of the cities with the best outcomes for Black people are run by Democrats in heavily Democratic areas, such as Charlotte, Miramar, Durham, and Pembroke Pines.

And this isn’t the only time in recent weeks that Nikki Haley, who is now one of a dozen Republican presidential hopefuls, has played the blame game and sparked outrage. A few weeks ago, at a televised CNN town hall event, Haley blamed trans people for growing teen suicide rates, a baseless claim that was swiftly condemned by a broad swathe of advocates, educators, and doctors.

In the end, I’m left wondering who Nikki Haley will blame for her dismal polling numbers. A recent Morning Consult survey of GOP voters shows Haley languishing at a mere three percent.

Perhaps if Haley spent less time stirring up outrage, she might have time to learn about some simple facts about race in America.

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