As Nikki Haley and other 2024 MAGA Republicans descend on Iowa today, they are making every attempt to hide from their shameful comments downplaying the horrific legacy of slavery. The DNC won’t let them run from their records, launching a slate of four billboards in Dubuque and Cedar Rapids over the next two days to greet Haley at her events and remind voters to hold Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and other 2024 MAGA Republicans accountable for their extremist records of whitewashing slavery and erasing our nation’s history. 

“We are at a pivotal and dangerous moment for American democracy: Voters are looking on at a GOP primary with three frontrunners who are so subsumed by the MAGA takeover of their party that they are campaigning on an agenda to whitewash slavery, ban books, and tell bold-faced lies about our history,” said DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika. “Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and Nikki Haley are showing voters who they are, and we should believe them. This isn’t new — these are the same extremists who’ve cozied up to white supremacists, argued in favor of the ‘merits’ of slavery, and have fought to protect the legacy of the Confederacy. This is the pathetic state of the MAGA GOP primary: a never-ending cycle of hate and vitriol followed by gaslighting, spin, and hypocrisy. Voters see right through it and will reject their extreme MAGA agenda once again next year.” 

Donald Trump has repeatedly rubbed shoulders with, defended, and refused to denounce white supremacists all while working to protect the legacy of the Confederacy and amplify hate.

Axios: “Former President Trump dined and conversed with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Tuesday night, according to two sources familiar with the matter.”

The Guardian: “Donald Trump declined to condemn white supremacists and violent rightwing groups during a contentious first presidential debate, instead urging a far-right group known for street brawling to ‘stand by’ and arguing that ‘somebody’s got to do something’ about the left.”

CNN: “Trump’s defense of the ‘very fine people’ at Charlottesville white nationalist march has David Duke gushing”

CNN: “President Donald Trump on Thursday denounced the removal of monuments to Confederate figures as ‘sad’ and ‘so foolish,’ days after white supremacists and neo-Nazis took to Charlottesville, Virginia, to violently protest the planned removal of a statue of the Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.”

TIME: “Donald Trump Refuses to Condemn KKK, Disavow David Duke Endorsement”

The Hill: “President Trump said Wednesday he ‘will not even consider’ renaming Army bases that were named for Confederate military leaders after top Pentagon officials indicated recently they are open to the idea. In a series of tweets, Trump argued the bases have become part of U.S. history and should not be ‘tampered with.’”

A day after Nikki Haley’s vile comments on slavery at a New Hampshire town hall, she’s made a pathetic attempt to clean things up — but we remember her long and shameful record of defending the Confederacy. 

Haley: “What do you want me to say about slavery? Next question.”

Haley: “We know the Civil War was about slavery, but it was also more than that. It was about the freedoms of every individual. It was about the role of government. … We stand by that.”

The Messenger: “Haley in First Campaign Event After Controversial Comments: ‘Civil War Was About Slavery … but It Was Also More’”

Haley: “You know for those groups that come in and say they have issues with the Confederate flag, I will work to talk to them about it. I will work and talk to them about the heritage and how this is not something that is racist. This is something that is a tradition that people feel proud of and let them know that we want their business in this state and that the flag where it is was a compromise of all people, that everybody should accept as part of South Carolina.”

CNN: “Haley also said she supported South Carolina’s ‘Confederate History Month’ during the interview, comparing it to Black History Month.” 

New York Magazine: “Years after basking in national plaudits for her action on the the flag, Haley backtracked while serving in the Trump administration, saying the Confederate flag was seen as an emblem of ‘service, and sacrifice, and heritage’ before it was ‘hijacked’ by the Charleston murderer Dylann Roof.”

Ron DeSantis literally doubled down on the assertion that some people benefited from slavery and has railed against efforts to teach American history in Florida schools. 

Washington Post: “DeSantis doubles down on claim that some Blacks benefited from slavery”

“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is intensifying his efforts to de-emphasize racism in his state’s public school curriculum by arguing that some Black people benefited from being enslaved and defending his state’s new African American history standards that civil rights leaders and scholars say misrepresents centuries of U.S. reality.

“‘They’re probably going to show that some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into doing things later in life,’ DeSantis said on Friday in response to reporters’ questions while standing in front of a nearly all-White crowd of supporters.”

Politico: “New Florida teaching standards say African Americans received some ‘personal benefit’ from slavery”

Tallahassee Democrat: “DeSantis signs into law ‘Stop WOKE Act’ to restrict race discussions in Florida”