Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said he won’t be “baited” by reporters who want those running for president to sound off against the confederate flag.
Huckabee said in an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that for him it’s an issue that the state of South Carolina needs to deal with, not one that the federal government, nor presidential candidates, are obliged to consider.
Huckabee is a presidential contender in the Republican race for the White House in 2016. He told NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd: “For those of us running for president, everyone’s being baited with this question as if somehow that has anything to do whatsoever with running for president, and my position is it most certainly does not.”
Apparently unsatisfied with that response, Todd actually asked Huckabee point-blank, “Are you comfortable displaying the Confederate battle flag in public?”
“I don’t personally display it anywhere, so it’s not an issue for me,” said Huckabee. “That’s an issue for the people of South Carolina. Do you display it? I doubt it. Does anyone on your panel display it? I doubt it. For us, it’s not an issue.”
The debate over whether the Confederate flag should fly over the Capitol in Columbia rose to prominence after the murder of nine black congregants at a church in Charleston on Wednesday.
Former presidential nominee Mitt Romney used Twitter on Saturday to call for the removal of the flag. But others like Huckabee and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum say they are leaving the issue up to the state.
“People want their president to be focused on the economy, keeping America safe. I don’t think they want us to weigh in on every little issue in all 50 states,” Huckabee told the news program.
Santorum, who appeared on ABC’s “This Week” tried to avoid the question until pressed by host Martha Raddatz. “My opinion is we should let the people of South Carolina to go about the process of making this decision,” he said.
