The chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party on Wednesday blasted conservative commentator Ann Coulter for suggesting his state’s governor, Nikki Haley, be deported.
“First off, what Ann Coulter said is despicable,” Matt Moore, told Time magazine at the Republican National Committee meeting in Charleston, S.C.
{mosads}Coulter took to Twitter on Tuesday evening following Haley’s Republican response to President Obama’s final State of the Union address, during which the Republican governor took a shot at GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump on immigration.
“During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation,” Haley said, prompting Coulter to tweet, “Trump should deport Nikki Haley.”
Haley, whose parents came from India, addressed immigrants in her speech, saying, “No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country.”
Moore told Time that Haley’s remarks are a reflection of the political realities facing a party that has been defeated in two consecutive presidential elections.
“Winning elections is about addition and multiplication,” Moore told the magazine. “We have to be a party that’s focused on bringing people into the tent to be successful in November.”
“And in doing that, words matter, tone matters, and the way we say things matters. There is nothing wrong with being respectful and polite to people in an attempt to win their vote,” he added.