Haley 'shocked' by Time's question about Indian taxi drivers
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}South Carolina's Governor Nikki Haley gestures as she address the RedState Gathering of conservative activists in Charleston, South Carolina, August 13, 2011.
Nikki Haley, South Carolina’s GOP governor and an Indian-American, responded graciously to a Time magazine editor’s question about whether she would give bigger tips to Sikh taxi drivers while in New York City. But on Friday her office revealed the governor’s true emotions.
"Governor Haley was shocked to have been asked the question, especially after the Time editor had just read the governor's book," said spokesman Rob Godfrey.
The question came at the end of the interview that was videotaped for the website and included 10 questions, including ones on the presidential race, the Tea Party and Haley’s faith.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“In New York City, which you’re visiting for a couple of days, a lot of our taxi drivers are Sikhs. If you get one, are you going to give them a slightly bigger tip?” asked editor Belinda Luscombe.
Haley – raised by her parents in the Sikh tradition – seemed unfazed, laughing a bit and saying, “Oh, I give the same tip to everyone.”
She was in New York promoting her book “Can’t Is Not an Option.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I felt like a lot of people wanted me to discount the way I was raised,” said the 40-year-old Haley, explaining why she wrote the book.
“And that was something I would never do. I’m very proud of the way that I was raised, I’m very proud of the way that my parents raised me. But I also know that being Christian is something that’s very true to me and (husband) Michael.”