How Nikki Haley Turned One Of Her Biggest Controversies Into A Joke On SNL

What's even better than apologizing for controversial statements made on a global stage? If you were to ask the likes of Shane Gillis, Woody Harrelson, Dave Chapelle, and even Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, the answer might be: making fun of yourself during a "Saturday Night Live" cold open. Haley adopted this pie-on-the-face technique in a February 2024 episode of "SNL," during which she poked fun at one of her own controversies from months prior.

In December 2023, Haley was speaking at a New Hampshire town hall event when she entered a tense back-and-forth with an attendee who asked the former governor what she believed to be the cause of the Civil War. Haley's response touched on states' rights, individual rights, and economic freedom but notably lacked any mention of slavery, drawing criticism from many including the hosts of "The View," who called Haley out over her controversial comments. 

The February 3, 2024, episode of "SNL" opened with a mock town hall meeting, with Haley making a stunning transformation from politician to "SNL" studio audience plant. Posing as a town hall attendee, the punchline eventually swings toward Haley's previous gaffe in December — and this time, Haley was prepared with a better answer than before.

At the New Hampshire town hall, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley seemed taken aback by the attendee's question regarding the cause of the Civil War. She started her response with a joke about the question's difficulty before asking the attendee, "What do you think the cause of the Civil War was?" The back-and-forth grew tense as the questioner quickly replied that he wasn't running for president and asked Haley why she wasn't mentioning slavery.

"What do you want me to say about slavery?" Haley responded (via CBS News), garnering widespread criticism for her avoidance of linking the Civil War with some states' desire to own slaves legally. Haley's team suggested the questioner might have been a Democratic plant meant to throw her off her game, but that didn't stop public opinion of her indirect answer.

She was lobbed a slow one during the "SNL" cold open when the show's host, Ayo Edebiri, asked Haley what she thought the main cause of the Civil War was and, "Do you think it starts with an 'S' and ends with a 'lavery?'" Haley took her easy swing from the studio audience, dryly quipping, "Yep, I probably should've said that the first time." The presidential hopeful then looked into the camera to deliver the show's iconic "live from New York" tagline (via YouTube).

Before she was trying to connect with the masses in a "Saturday Night Live" cold open, Nikki Haley and her campaign team were hard at work playing clean-up after Haley's controversial comments. The presidential hopeful addressed her comments on the New Hampshire radio program "The Pulse," saying: "I mean, of course, the Civil War was about slavery. We know that. That's the easy part of it. What I was saying was, what does it mean to us today?"

Haley, for her part, has mentioned the Civil War and slavery in the same context before. She successfully campaigned to remove the Confederate flag from the State House of South Carolina, the first state to secede from the Union and one of the founding members of the Confederacy. Speaking of the flag at an Iowa town hall event, Haley said that half of South Carolinians viewed the flag as heritage, while the other half perceived the flag to mean "slavery and hate" (via the Independent). 

While Haley's appearance on "SNL" was an obvious attempt to win some positive points with the public, it doesn't appear that it helped her much in terms of election results. As of this writing, Haley has lost every GOP presidential primary so far in 2024, including Nevada, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Haley's home state of South Carolina.