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

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January 18, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. EST
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, seen Monday at a campaign event in Des Moines, told Fox News this week that America is “not a racist country” and has “never been a racist country.” (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
10 min

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.”

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