--- title: South Carolina GOP Chair Blasts Ann Coulter description: "What Ann Coulter said is despicable." canonical: https://time.com/4179022/nikki-haley-state-union-response-matt-moore/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-13T16:25:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:56:33.038Z article:section: Politics og:title: South Carolina GOP Chair Blasts Ann Coulter og:description: And defends Nikki Haley. og:url: https://time.com/4179022/nikki-haley-state-union-response-matt-moore/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc4916346c5c02b8d/698878f3cd1bba10e56feee6/nikki-haley1.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley addresses a Newsmaker Luncheon at the National Press Club September 2, 2015 in Washington, DC. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: South Carolina GOP Chair Blasts Ann Coulter twitter:description: And defends Nikki Haley. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc4916346c5c02b8d/698878f3cd1bba10e56feee6/nikki-haley1.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # South Carolina GOP Chair Blasts Coulter, Defends Haley > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=3b76eca8-9aed-4a4e-9774-0330e9e32110&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch Gov. Nikki Haley Respond to the State of the Union Address [Watch (HLS stream): Watch Gov. Nikki Haley Respond to the State of the Union Address](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QfUk4NSv.m3u8) (2:25)  _Published 2016-01-13_ by [Zeke J Miller / Charleston, S.C.](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Charleston, S.C. Jan 13, 2016 4:25 PM UTC  South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley addresses a Newsmaker Luncheon at the National Press Club September 2, 2015 in Washington, DC. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley addresses a Newsmaker Luncheon at the National Press Club September 2, 2015 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Zeke J Miller / Charleston, S.C.](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Charleston, S.C. Jan 13, 2016 4:25 PM UTC The chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party fired back at critics of Gov. Nikki Haley’s response to the State of the Union address Tuesday night, saying her welcoming tone should be commended. “First off, what Ann Coulter said is despicable,” Matt Moore told TIME on the sidelines of the Republican National Committee meeting in Charleston, referring to the conservative commentator’s tweet that “Trump should deport Nikki Haley.” The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley was selected to present a counter-argument to Trump’s comments about immigrants and minorities. “During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices,” Haley said in reference to Trump. “We must resist that temptation.” Moore said Haley was simply reflecting political realities for a party that has lost two straight presidential elections. “Winning elections is about addition and multiplication,” he said. “We have to be a party that’s focused on bringing people into the tent to be successful in November. And in doing that, words matter, tone matters, and the way we say things matters. There is nothing wrong with being respectful and polite to people in an attempt to win their vote.” ## Transcript Unfortunately, the President's record has often fallen far short of his soaring words. As he enters his final year in office, many Americans are still feeling the squeeze of an economy, too weak to raise in calm levels. We're feeling that crushing national debt. A healthcare plan that has made insurance less affordable and doctors less available and chaotic unrest in many of our cities. Even worse, we are facing the most dangerous terrorist threat our nation has seen since September 11th and this president appears unwilling or unable. To deal with it. While democrats in Washington bear much responsibility for the problems facing America today, they do not bear it alone. There is more than enough blame to go around. Today we live in a time of threats like few others in recent memory During anxious times it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation. No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country. That does not mean we just flat our open our borders. We can't do that. We cannot continue to allow immigrants to come here illegally and in this age of terrorism we must not let in refugees whose intentions cannot be determined. We must fix our broken immigration system. That means stopping illegal integration. And it means welcoming properly vetted legal immigrants, regardless of their race or religion. In many parts of society today, whether in popular culture, academia, the media or politics, there's a tendency to falsely equate noise with results. Some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference. That's just not true. We have all the guidance we need to be safe and successful. Our four fathers paved the way. [ UNKNOWN ] for us. Let's take their values and their strengths and rededicate ourselves to doing whatever it takes to keep America the greatest country in the history of man and woman. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4179022/nikki-haley-state-union-response-matt-moore/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4179022/nikki-haley-state-union-response-matt-moore/"},"headline":"South Carolina GOP Chair Blasts Coulter, Defends Haley","datePublished":"2016-01-13T16:25:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:56:33.038Z","description":"\"What Ann Coulter said is despicable.\"","url":"https://time.com/4179022/nikki-haley-state-union-response-matt-moore/","keywords":["state of the union","South Carolina","Nikki Haley"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc4916346c5c02b8d/698878f3cd1bba10e56feee6/nikki-haley1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke J Miller / Charleston, S.C."}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc4916346c5c02b8d/698878f3cd1bba10e56feee6/nikki-haley1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley addresses a Newsmaker Luncheon at the National Press Club September 2, 2015 in Washington, DC.","caption":"South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley addresses a Newsmaker Luncheon at the National Press Club September 2, 2015 in Washington, DC.","creditText":"Alex Wong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/state-of-the-union/","name":"state of the union"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4179022/nikki-haley-state-union-response-matt-moore/","name":"South Carolina GOP Chair Blasts Coulter, Defends Haley"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch Gov. 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