DeSantis vs. Haley: Is It Bad to Be Nice?

One of the more revealing exchanges in a debate that could have been far more illuminating than it was surrounded the claim that displays of empathy for George Floyd and the Americans who reacted with horror to his arrest-related killing are guilty of advantage-seeking insincerity.

That was the charge Ron DeSantis levied against Nikki Haley. He pivoted off a message she put out shortly after Floyd’s death, in which she called the traumatic footage of his slaying “personal and painful for every American,” to attack her hollow sanctimony.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

Featured Tags

One of the more revealing exchanges in a debate that could have been far more illuminating than it was surrounded the claim that displays of empathy for George Floyd and the Americans who reacted with horror to his arrest-related killing are guilty of advantage-seeking insincerity.

That was the charge Ron DeSantis levied against Nikki Haley. He pivoted off a message she put out shortly after Floyd’s death, in which she called the traumatic footage of his slaying “personal and painful for every American,” to attack her hollow sanctimony.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.