CNN’s Jake Tapper said on “The Lead” Tuesday that “a very ugly side of the left comes out” when Republican Nikki Haley runs for office.
Referring to comments made by Wajahat Ali of the New York Times, Tapper chided his side for attacks on Haley based on the color of her skin.
“The New York Times opinion writer Wajahat Ali made very critical comments yesterday or maybe Sunday about Governor Nikki Haley, who is now running for president,” Tapper said, before showing the MSNBC clip where Ali made his comments.
During a visit to the “Mehdi Hasan Show,” Ali attacked Haley for ‘using’ her brown skin as a “weapon” against poor minorities in a bizarre statement.
“She uses her brown skin as a weapon against poor black folks and poor brown folks, and she uses her brown skin to launder white supremacist talking points,” the writer said.
“The reason I feel sad is because no matter what she does, it will never be enough. They’ll never love her.”
Trump embraces Nikki Haley's call for "mental competency tests" for presidential candidates @RameshPonnuru, @PaulBegala, @HeidiReports and @alaynatreene discuss with @jaketapper pic.twitter.com/I8OdJ5z5qd
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) February 22, 2023
Democrat strategist Paul Begala disagreed with Ali, saying, “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.”
Finishing, Begala said, “I think it’s a terrible thing to say about her,” noting that he does not have to agree with her political views to respect her as a person.
After saying, “I don’t want to make too big a deal out of this,” Tapper continued, scolding Ali and those who represent an “ugly side” of the left wing.
“You see some people on the left noting that Nikki is not her original first name. I think that is her middle name,” Tapper noted.
“It’s not true, and these are the same people who objected to whenever Republicans would say ‘Barack Hussein Obama.’ I mean, there is a very ugly side of the left that comes out when Nikki Haley runs for office,” the host said.
George Washington University’s Jonathan Turley took to Twitter to rip the “raw racism against conservatives of color” on display in Ali’s MSNBC appearance.
The open and raw racism against conservatives of color is getting truly alarming. MSNBC just featured Daily Beast contributor Wajahat Ali saying that Nikki Haley "uses her Brown skin to launder White supremacist talking points."https://t.co/STCSnHi6E1
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 20, 2023
The CNN segment on Haley started and finished with a discussion surrounding the presidential candidate’s call for mental competency tests for politicians aged 75 and up, which former President Donald Trump has supported.
Haley and Trump were recently joined by Vivek Ramaswamy, a former biotech entrepreneur, on the list of Republicans vying for the party’s presidential nomination in 2024.
