2024 GOP candidate Nikki Haley says she “had Black friends growing up” in follow-up to Civil War question.

2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley told Erin Burnett at a CNN town hall Thursday night that she “should have said slavery” in her viral response to a question about the causes of the Civil War, but said in her mind, “that’s a given.” “In South Carolina…you grow up...you know, I had Black friends growing up. It is a very talked-about thing,” Haley said. Here’s the full exchange:

BURNETT: “So, I want to ask you about something that's been a challenge for your campaign over the past week. And this, of course, is referring back to New Hampshire, where you were asked to explain the cause of the Civil War. You obviously did not mention slavery. And afterwards, you came up, you said, ‘that was a mistake.’ In fact, you said it should have been the first thing that you said. So you did come out and say that. Chris Christie, though, came out and said that you gave that answer not because you're, in his words, ‘dumb’ or ‘racist,’ but because you're, quote, ‘unwilling to offend anyone by telling the truth.’ What do you say to that?”

HALEY: “No one's ever said that I am unwilling to offend. I offend plenty of people because I call people out when they do something wrong. What I will tell you is Chris Christie is from New Jersey. I should have said slavery right off the bat. But if you grow up in South Carolina, literally in second and third grade, you learn about slavery. You grow up and you have — you know, I had Black friends growing up. It is a very talked about thing. We have a big history in South Carolina when it comes to, you know, slavery, when it comes to all the things that happened with the Civil War, all that. I was over — I was thinking past slavery, and talking about the lesson that we would learn going forward. I shouldn't have done that. I should have said slavery. But in in my mind, that's a given that everybody associates the Civil War with slavery.”