According to Daily Mail, President Joe Biden took the opportunity on Monday to criticize both former President Donald Trump and potential 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley for their recent comments regarding the Civil War. During a visit to Charleston at the historic Mother Emanuel AME Church, where he aimed to strengthen support among black voters, Biden used one phrase to address remarks made by Trump and Haley, receiving applause from the audience.
While facing interruptions from pro-Palestinian protesters demanding a ceasefire, Biden also garnered cheers when he referred to Trump as a ‘loser’ and faced chants of ‘four more years.’ Biden emphatically stated, “So let me be clear for those who don’t seem to know: Slavery was the cause of the Civil War. There was no negotiation about that.”
The criticism stems from a recent incident where Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina, failed to mention slavery when asked about the cause of the Civil War during a town hall event in New Hampshire. Haley suggested that the war was about how the government would be run and the freedoms of the people, prompting criticism for omitting the key factor of slavery.
Former President Trump also entered the fray during a campaign stop in Newton, Iowa, where he expressed the belief that the Civil War was “something that could’ve been negotiated.” Trump stated that the war was fascinating and horrible, and he questioned whether negotiating could have prevented the devastating conflict. He reflected on the high death toll and the severe consequences of injuries during that time.
While Trump’s comments have stirred controversy, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, another top Republican candidate for 2024, has remained relatively unaffected by the Civil War debate. DeSantis dismissed Trump’s remarks, stating he doesn’t know what Trump is talking about and emphasizing that Abraham Lincoln did what he had to do, leading to the abolition of slavery and the preservation of the union.
