New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who has endorsed Nikki Haley for president, downplayed her recent failure to mention slavery when asked what caused the Civil War.
While he admitted under pressure that it was a mistake for Haley to answer how she did, Sununu clamed on CNN’s State of the Union that the gaffe is now a “nonissue”—even though she is still getting questions about it.
“She cleared it up quickly,” Sununu said, suggesting that “slavery” was such an obvious answer to the question that Haley didn’t think she needed to say it.
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Her misstep, which came at a Dec. 27 town hall meeting while she was surging in the polls, triggered a tidal wave of negative headlines and soundbites that continued through this weekend.
Asked what she believed had caused the war, Haley said it involved “the freedoms of what people could and couldn’t do” and discussed the role of government and capitalism without mentioning slavery.
“In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word ‘slavery,’” the town hall questioner said to her.
“What do you want me to say about slavery?” Haley responded sharply.
The next day, in a radio interview, she tried to do damage control, saying, “Of course the Civil War was about slavery.”
Primary rival Chris Christie has said that Haley’s original remark was not an innocent omission but an example of her trying to be everything to everyone.
“She’s smart and she knows better,” he said earlier in the week. “The reason she did it is just as bad if not worse... she did it because she is not willing to offend anyone by telling the truth.”
Sununu said on State of the Union that Christie’s criticism is the last gasp of a campaign that is on life support.
“His race is at an absolute dead-end,” he said. “The only person who wants Chris Christie to stay in the race is Donald Trump.”
With some polls showing Haley within single digits of Trump in New Hampshire, Christie could take her “margin of the win” if he doesn’t drop out before the state’s primary.
“I think he is going to make the right decision eventually,” Sununu said of Christie.
