Chatter About Haley Devolves Into Misogyny

Punditry about the entry of the former governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, into the 2024 presidential race has quickly devolved into a nasty mix of misogyny, xenophobia, and identity politics.During a conversation about the 51-year-old Ms. Haley’s proposal that politicians take competency tests, commentator Don Lemon on CNN’s “This Morning” criticized Ms. Haley for her proposal and for her age.“I think it’s the wrong road to go down,” Mr. Lemon said. “She says people — politicians or something — are not in their prime, Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry.” He went on to add, “A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30 and maybe 40s.”This comment has invoked the ire of a range of conservatives online, many of whom are suggesting the episode is an example of liberal hypocrisy.“This is one of the most sexist things a ‘news host’ has said in recent memory, but nothing will happen to Don Lemon, of course,” columnist Ben Shapiro said.Pundit Meghan McCain, the daughter of the daughter of the late senator and former presidential candidate, John McCain, simply called Mr. Lemon a “sexist pig.”“Imagine, the year is 2015, and Don Lemon is saying the exact same thing about Hillary Clinton,” Senator Cruz said, calling the comment an example of “leftist misogyny.” Ms. Haley responded to the criticism publicly, tweeting that “it’s always the liberals who are the most sexist.”“Liberals can’t stand the idea of having competency tests for older politicians to make sure they can do the job,” Ms. Haley said.Mr. Lemon has since apologized for his remarks concerning Ms. Haley’s age. “The reference I made to a woman’s ‘prime’ this morning was inartful and irrelevant, as colleagues and loved ones have pointed out, and I regret it,” Mr. Lemon said. “A woman’s age doesn’t define her, either personally or professionally.” Ms. Haley has also faced criticism about her racial identity. Ms. Haley’s Indian-American identity was a subject of a Politico article titled, “Nikki Haley’s complicated racial dance.”In it, Politico called out Ms. Haley for listing her race as “white” on her voter registration in 2001. In South Carolina, voters have the option of disclosing their racial and demographic information when registering to vote.The individual options are African American/Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, White, and other. There is no southern Asian or other option for those from the Indian subcontinent.According to reporting by Reason, Indians were often considered white by federal agencies until 1975, when the government set out to devise a standard way to collect racial demographic information, and Indian Americans ultimately were decided to be counted as Asian Americans.Ms. Haley’s candidacy has also spurred reactions from some conservative pundits. Commentator Ann Coulter launched a xenophobic attack on Ms. Haley following her announcement.On Mark Simone’s radio show, Ms. Coulter attacked Ms. Haley for removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse following the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church at Charleston in 2015.Ms. Coulter said that Ms. Haley should “go back to [her] own country” and that she had no business “taking down parts of history.”“I need to immigrate to India so I can demand they start taking down parts of their history,” Ms. Coulter said. “Why don’t you go back to your own country and reconsider that history?”Ms. Haley’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the attacks.

Chatter About Haley Devolves Into Misogyny

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