Nikki Haley claims she was bullied by racists growing up ‘in the Deep South as a brown girl’

In a joint interview with NBC News's Dasha Burns and the Des Moines Register's Brianne Pfannenstiel earlier this month, Haley said anyone questioning her record on race can, "go back and look at what I've said on how hard it was to grow up in the Deep South as a brown girl."

She added, "We were the only Indian family in our small southern town. I was teased every day for being brown."

"I was disqualified from a beauty pageant because I wasn't white or black because they didn't know where to put me," she continued.

The former South Carolina governor has been attempting to clean up comments she made during a New Hampshire town where she stumbled on naming slavery as a cause of the Civil War.

During a CNN town hall in Iowa held ahead of the state's GOP caucus that took place on January 15, Haley stated that she "had black friends growing up" when she was asked about the Civil War answer controversy.

The following day, Haley said in the interview that "What I will tell you is saying that I had black friends is a source of pride, saying that I had white friends is a source of pride. If you want to know what it was like growing up, I was disqualified from a beauty pageant because I wasn't white or black because they didn't know where to put me."

"So look, I know the hardships, the pain that come with racism. It's the reason that I fight bullies every day when it comes to racism, antisemitism, or hate, and I always will. If I didn't mention slavery on that day, it's because that's an automatic. There's always been - the Civil War's always been known about slavery. I misread it and thought he was looking for a bigger answer going forward. So critics can say whatever they want. I'm very comfortable in my skin. I'm very comfortable with what I believe in. And my job is not to convince them."

Following Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's announcement that he was suspending his campaign for President in 2024 on Sunday, Haley remains the only candidate still running against former President Donald Trump in the primary and is still polling far behind him.