'America is a work in progress': Former Ambassador Nikki Haley denies US a 'racist country' at Republican National Convention

Former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor appears to calibrate remarks towards possible 2024 presidential bid

A likely frontrunner to take the mantle of the Republican Party after Donald Trump contended during the Republican National Convention that the United States "is not a racist country".

Nikki Haley, a former US ambassador to the United Nations and a former South Carolina governor who is likely a 2024 candidate for her party's nomination, made the claim despite saying moments earlier that her family faced discrimination when she was a young girl.

"America is not a racist country," she claimed. "America is a story that is a work in progress.

"In much of the Democratic Party, it's now fashionable to say that America is racist. That is a lie. America is not a racist country," Ms Haley said. "This is personal for me. I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. They came to America and settled in a small southern town. My father wore a turban. My mother wore a sari. I was a brown girl in a black and white world.

"We faced discrimination and hardship. But my parents never gave in to grievance and hate," Ms Haley said. "My mom built a successful business. My dad taught 30 years at a historically black college. And the people of South Carolina chose me as their first minority and first female governor."

She then pivoted to an attack on Democrats, while opting against using the term "black lives matter".

"America is a story that's a work in progress. Now is the time to build on that progress, and make America even freer, fairer, and better for everyone. That's why it's tragic to see so much of the Democratic Party turn a blind eye toward riots and rage," she said. "The American people know we can do better. And of course we know that every single black life is valuable."

But she then ticked off a list, saying black police officers, business owners and kids killed during violent acts all "matter".

She appeared to be one of the few speakers of the night who did not calibrate their entire remarks for Mr Trump. Parts of her speech felt like a test drive for a 2024 White House bid.

For instance, she touted her decision following a deadly shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, by a white supremacist to remove the Confederate flag from outside the state capitol building.

"It doesn't have to be like this. It wasn't like this in South Carolina five years ago. Our state came face-to-face with evil," she said. "A white supremacist walked into Mother Emanuel Church during Bible study. Twelve African-Americans pulled up a chair and prayed with him for an hour. Then he began to shoot.

"After that horrific tragedy, we didn't turn against each other. We came together – black and white, Democrat and Republican. Together, we made the hard choices needed to heal – and removed a divisive symbol, peacefully and respectfully."