Topline
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley misstated the name of University of Iowa women’s basketball player Caitlin Clark during a campaign stop in the state Saturday—ending one of the most controversial weeks for her campaign on shaky footing just two weeks before the primaries.
Former UN ambassador and 2024 Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley speaks at a town hall … [+] event at the Bien Venu Event Space in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on December 29, 2023. (Photo by CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA/AFP via Getty Images)
Key Facts
Haley said “Caitlin Collins is phenomenal,” appearing to confuse the record-breaking basketball player with CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins, who quipped, “I can assure you her free-throw percentage is much higher than mine,” in a tweet responding to Haley’s gaffe.
Haley made the comment while campaigning in Coralville, Iowa, ahead of Iowa’s game against the University of Minnesota, which Haley is scheduled to attend.
The misstep comes as Haley attempts to clean up the fallout over her refusal to acknowledge the Civil War was about slavery during a campaign event in New Hampshire on Wednesday.
Key Background
Haley said the Civil War was about “the freedoms of what people could and couldn’t do” when prompted by an audience member during the town hall in Berlin, New Hampshire. When the audience member said it was “astonishing” Haley did not mention slavery, she retorted “What do you want me to say about slavery?” Following widespread backlash, including from her GOP primary competitors and President Joe Biden, Haley attempted to walk back the comments, telling a New Hampshire radio show the following morning “of course the Civil War was about slavery” and asserting that the Civil War was about “freedom to do and be anything they want to be without anyone or government getting in the way.” Haley continued to field questions about her slavery comments on Saturday from Iowa, telling Fox News “the first thing I should have said was slavery . . . when you grow up in the South, slavery is a given.” She also referenced legislation she signed as governor of South Carolina to remove a Confederate flag from the state capitol.
Chief Critic
“Nikki Haley is once again spending her day defending her stupid Civil War flub,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign tweeted Saturday.
Big Number
11%. That’s Haley’s average support in GOP presidential primary polls, according to FiveThirtyEight, putting her in third place behind the 12% support for DeSantis and 61% for former President Donald Trump.
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