Appearing as a guest on Wednesday's CNN Newsroom with Carol Costello, during a discussion of South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley giving the Republican response to the State of the Union, Daily Beast Executive Editor Noah Shachtman asserted that Governor Haley is a "super-conservative" who is trying to prevent the GOP from going "fascist" and "white nationalist."
After host Costello noted that Governor Haley is a "conservative" who is "supported by the Tea Party," Shachtman brought up fascism as he responded: "Yeah, she's super-conservative, but she doesn't want the Republican party to turn into a white nationalist, to turn into a kind of fascist party. And, you know, there's a lot of concern that that's the drift right now. And so Nikki Haley and a lot of other principled conservatives are trying to stop that."
At about 10:29 a.m. ET, Costello brought up Governor Haley's speech after guest Errol Louis recalled that President Barack Obama had complained about divisive politics. Costello:
And apparently it's an emotion that Nikki Haley, the governor of South Carolina, the Republican governor, also feels because in her response to President Obama's State of the Union, she also brought up the divisiveness in this country, and she seemed to single out Donald Trump. Let's listen.
Then came a clip of Governor Haley:
During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation. No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country.
Turning to Shachtman, the CNN host continued:
And, Noah, with those words, Nikki Haley inspired sort of a backlash from some conservatives, like Ann Coulter, who tweeted, "Donald Trump should deport Nikki Haley." Of course, as you know, Nikki Haley was born to immigrant parents, but she was actually born in South Carolina. But, that said, you get the drift here. So does this mean anything? Should we take away anything from this, Noah?
The Daily Beast executive editor responded:
Yeah, to me, Haley's address was in some ways more remarkable that Obama's. I mean, have you ever had a situation where the President and his, you know, supposed adversary are going after the same person? I think it's a sort of cry from sort of traditional, mainstream politics to try to keep the fringe from taking over. And I thought it was amazing.
After getting Louis's take, Costello turned back to Shachtman as she recalled: "And lest we forget, Noah, Nikki Haley is conservative. She's supported by the Tea Party."
Shachtman declared:
Yeah, she's super-conservative, but she doesn't want the Republican party to turn into a white nationalist, to turn into a kind of fascist party. And, you know, there's a lot of concern that that's the drift right now. And so Nikki Haley and a lot of other principled conservatives are trying to stop that.
