Jake Tapper: Nikki Haley’s Candidacy Brings Out ‘Very Ugly Side of the Left’
A CNN panel led by Jake Tapper roundly condemned the spate of racial attacks on Nikki Haley on Tuesday, with Tapper observing that Haley brings out a “very ugly side of the left.”
The segment began with a replay of a recent appearance by Wajahat Ali on Mehdi Hasan‘s MSNBC show, during which Ali charged Haley with using “her brown skin as a weapon against poor black folks and poor brown folks,” as well as “to launder white supremacist talking points.”
“The reason why I feel sad is because no matter what she does, Mehdi, it will never be enough. They’ll never love her,” he continued.
National Review‘s Ramesh Ponnuru characterized Ali’s rant as a series of “dumb remarks” and boon to Haley’s campaign, while Democratic strategist Paul Begala expressed disappointment with his fellow partisans for their rhetoric.
“I think the fact she got to be the governor of South Carolina with brown skin is a very impressive accomplishment. I don’t think it’s something people should be ridiculing her about,” said Begala. “I think it’s a terrible thing to say about her.”
At that point, Tapper jumped back in to observe that “you see some people on the left noting that Nikki is not her original first name” and that many of those accusing Haley of whitewashing her heritage “are the same people who objected to whenever Republicans would say ‘Barack Hussein Obama.'”
“There is a very ugly side of the left that comes out when Nikki Haley runs for office,” concluded Tapper before turning to reporter Alayna Treene, who agreed with both Tapper’s moral and Ponnuru’s political assessment.
Ali has repeatedly referred to Haley as “Nimrata” — a misspelling of her given first name Nimarata — on social media. Hasan, meanwhile, has attacked Haley for calling herself the “proud daughter” of Indian immigrants while calling for stricter enforcement of U.S. immigration laws, somehow discerning hypocrisy in those two positions.
Watch the clip above, via CNN.
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