[guest post by Dana]

In an interview with The Breakfast Club, Republican candidate Nikki Haley was asked about states being able to secede – specifically Texas, in light of the border crisis:

Speaker 3
Would you use force against Texas if they tried to secede over the board issue? Because I remember in twenty ten you said you U has states should have the right to secede.

Speaker 1
Do you still believe that.

HALEY:
I believe in states rights. I believe that everything should be as close to the people to decide. We know that’s not going to happen. That’s not the issue, but I do think, like right now, it’s a good issue on state’s rights. Biden won’t secure the border. If Governor Abbott goes and puts that fencing up there to keep people out. He has to protect Texans. When I was governor, I had to protect South Carolina, and you do whatever it takes to protect your people and keep them safe. If Biden’s saying no, cut that fence, I mean, a state has the ability to do these things because states rights do matter, and I think that states need to be able to do that.

Speaker 1
Would you use force against Texas if they ever try to succeed?

HALEY:
Use force against them? No, we don’t ever use force against our own Americans.

Speaker 3
Okay, I got it. I don’t mean like military or anything like that. I’m just talking about, like, would you be strong against them doing that?

HALEY:
I mean, I think you know, states are going to make decisions, but let’s talk about what’s reality. Texas isn’t going to succeed and succeed. I mean, that’s not something that they’re going to do.

Speaker 1
So why did you say you believe in that in two ten?

HALEY:
What was the context of it.

Speaker 1
I think you said you believe that states have the right to secede. That’s what you said. You believe the states of the United States have the right to seceed [sic] community.

HALEY:
I think that they do. I mean the Constitution says that. I think states have the right to make the decisions that their people want to make. I mean they do. In South Carolina, we said we didn’t want Syrian refugees. We said we didn’t want Guantana Mobay [sic] prisoners. We said those things. South. I do think that laws should be made as close to the people as possible because it empowers the people. If Texas decides they want to do that, they can do that. But I don’t think that if that whole state says we don’t want to be part of America anymore, I mean, that’s their decision to make. But I don’t think government needs to tell people how to live, how to do anything. I mean, I think that we need to let freedom live and [sic].

(Light edits made to simplify Questioner and Haley.)

–Dana