Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said “political opponents are not evil” in the U.S., saying she had seen “true evil” in countries such as South Sudan or Syria.
Haley, delivering a keynote address Thursday at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York, referred to the current climate as a “toxic political environment.”
{mosads} That has led both parties to “describe their opponents as evil,” she added, but warned that what was happening in the U.S. could not be compared to what she had seen in other countries during her two years serving as U.N. ambassador.
“In South Sudan, where rape is routinely used as a weapon of war, that is evil,” she said. “In Syria, where the dictator uses chemicals weapons to murder innocent children, that is evil. In North Korea, where American student Otto Warmbier was tortured to death, that was evil.”
Haley, a former South Carolina governor, resigned earlier this month and will leave the position at the end of 2018.
Her comments come amidst a heated midterm campaign cycle that has been marked by harsh rhetoric, including from President Trump.
While Haley did acknowledge the differences in America, she said the country was blessed with a system “that allows us to resolve our differences peacefully.”
She ended with a call for unity, saying America is stronger and healthier when people can come together and find common ground.
At the same event, Haley made an “Indian” joke about Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), mocking her release of a DNA test showing she had some Native American ancestry.
“I get it, you wanted an Indian woman, but Elizabeth Warren failed her DNA test,” Haley joked. “Actually, when the president found out that I was Indian American, he asked me if I was from the same tribe as Elizabeth Warren.”