Indian-American Republican leader Nikki Haley, who finished third in the Iowa caucuses, has said that the US has never been a "racist country" and their goal is to make sure that "today is better than yesterday," Fox News reported.
Haley made the remarks in response to MSNBC Joy Reid's statement on whether Haley could win the Republican Party nomination. Reid had accused Republicans of being an "anti-immigrant" party and that's why she "can't picture" Haley becoming the GOP nominee in 2024, Fox News reported.
In an interview with Fox News, Haley suggested Reid "lives in a different America than I do." She said, "I mean, yes, I'm a brown girl who grew up in a small rural town in South Carolina who became the first female minority governor in history, who became a UN ambassador and who is now running for president. If that's not the American dream, I don't know what is."
When asked by "Fox & Friends" host Brian Kilmeade if the Republican Party is racist, Nikki Haley said, "No we are not." She further said, "We're not a racist country. We've never been a racist country. Our goal is to make sure that today is better than yesterday. Are we perfect? No, but our goal is to always make sure we try and be more perfect every day that we can."
Speaking about her experience growing up in the US, Haley said, "I know I faced racism when I was growing up, but I can tell you today is a lot better than it was then. Our goal is to lift up everybody, not go and divide people on race or gender or party or anything else. We've had enough of that in America."
"That's why I'm so passionate about doing this. I don't want my kids growing up where they're sitting there thinking that they're disadvantaged because of colour or gender. I want them to know that if they work hard, they can do and be anything they want to be in America," she added.
Despite ending up third in the Iowa caucuses, Haley said her campaign remains focused on maximising her performance in the New Hampshire primary next week, Fox News reported.
Former US President Donald Trump secured win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night (local time). He received more than 50 per cent of the vote. Ron DeSantis secured second spot with 21.2 per cent pf votes while Nikki Haley was in third place with 19.1 per cent of votes.
Another Indian-American Republican Leader Vivek Ramaswamy came at fourth position with 7.7 per cent of the vote. He ultimately dropped out of the race and endorsed Donald Trump.
Taking to social media platform X, Ramaswamy stated, "This entire campaign is about speaking the TRUTH. We did not achieve our goal tonight, & we need an America-First patriot in the White House. The people spoke loud & clear about who they want. Tonight I am suspending my campaign and endorsing Donald J Trump and will do everything I can to make sure he is the next US President."
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