COLUMBIA - South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says she wishes Donald Trump communicated differently because bad things result from divisive rhetoric, as evidenced by last June's massacre in Charleston.
The Republican governor said Thursday that divisive speech motivated Dylann Roof to gun down nine black parishioners at historic Emanuel AME Church. Police have said the white 22-year-old charged with their murders wanted to start a race war.
Haley endorsed then-candidate Marco Rubio ahead of South Carolina's primary. She said she has vocally criticized Trump because "I know what that rhetoric can do. I saw it happen."
She says she doesn't think people who support Trump are racist or haters; she says they're angry nothing gets done in Washington. But she says Trump has a responsibility for the country's well-being to use a civil, respectful tone.