The Latest: South Carolina gov. talks to National Press Club
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The latest on South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s speech, “Lessons from the New South,” at the National Press Club in Washington (all times local):
4:50 p.m.
Gov. Nikki Haley has publicly opened the door to joining a Republican presidential ticket next year.
The Republican governor told the National Press Club on Wednesday she would “of course” sit down and talk if the eventual GOP nominee approaches her. She would not repeat her previous pledge to serve out her second term, which is set to end in January 2019.
Haley’s national profile has risen since she successfully called on legislators to remove the Confederate battle flag from its 30-foot perch on Statehouse grounds.
But she’s dismissed questions about how the attention affects her political future, saying she didn’t want to even acknowledge them, since her push resulted from the massacre of nine parishioners at a historic black church in Charleston.
Since her re-election in November, she’s been adamant that, while she would welcome all GOP presidential contenders to the early-primary state and use their presence to advertise South Carolina, she was staying put.
But when asked Wednesday, Haley said, “If there’s a time and place to think about it, we’ll do it then.”
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4:15 p.m.
Gov. Nikki Haley says Republicans are doing a “shameful” job communicating with minorities.
South Carolina’s first minority governor said Wednesday that while she strongly believes Republican policies on jobs and education will lift up all people, the GOP must change its messaging.
“The problem for our party is that our approach often appears cold and unwelcoming to minorities,” Haley told the National Press Club. “It’s on us to communicate our positions in ways that wipe away the clutter of prejudices.”
The daughter of Indian immigrants says that applies to all minorities. “This is not just a black and white thing,” she said.
She says that starts by visiting minority communities and listening.
Haley drew applause from the audience when she said GOP presidential candidates should discuss how they’ll tackle illegal immigration without attacking the millions who worked hard to get to America.
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3:30 p.m.
Gov. Nikki Haley said Wednesday that South Carolina has shown that racial progress comes from listening to, not shouting at, one another.
Noting the deaths of unarmed black men in cities across the country, Haley said Wednesday in a speech to the National Press Club that black lives do matter. But she said they’ve been “disgracefully jeopardized” by the Black Lives Matter movement that laid waste to Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore.
South Carolina’s first minority governor called the riots there senseless, saying they primarily harmed black residents and the businesses that serve them.
She said there was no destruction after Walter Scott was shot while running from a white North Charleston officer, nor did violence occur after the massacre of nine parishioners in a historic black church in Charleston.
Instead of riots, she said, there were vigils and hugs. She said the victims’ families have taught everyone that love and a willingness to listen are the paths to racial reconciliation.
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10:42 a.m.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will tell the National Press Club that the “New South” can lead the nation in race relations and racial advancement.
Haley is scheduled to give a speech titled “Lessons from the New South” on Wednesday in Washington. It comes amid speculation she will be in contention next year as a running mate for the Republican presidential nominee.
Her national profile has risen since she called for the Confederate flag’s removal from Statehouse grounds, prompted by the massacre of nine parishioners in a historic black church in Charleston. The flag came down less than three weeks later.
According to excerpts of her address, Haley will say residents’ nonviolent reaction to this summer’s racially charged events showed the world that South Carolina is not racially intolerant.
