South Carolina’s two Republican senators Mr Lindsey Graham and Mr Tim Scott, were also alongside Ms Haley at the announcement. Though they did not speak there, they both backed the governor’s call. Mr Graham, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, said in a statement that “after the tragic, hate-filled shooting in Charleston, it is only appropriate that we deal once and for all with the issue of the flag.” The Republican House speaker of Mississippi also unexpectedly declared in a statement Monday night that the Mississippi state flag, which includes the Confederate banner, “has become a point of offense that needs to be removed.” Most Republican presidential candidates had earlier hesitated to weigh in on the flag issue as South Carolina is an early and crucial primary state. But Ms Haley’s decision helped them cut their tacit support of the Confederate flag.

Former Florida Governor Mr Jeb Bush and Ohio Governor Mr John Kasich quickly expressed their support for Ms Haley, hailing her calls for the flag’s removal as the right decision. Walmart, the country’s largest retailer, removed items bearing the Confederate flag from its stores and stopped selling them online. Sears Holdings also followed the same.

Calling the Confederate flag a “Symbol of Hatred”, the New York Times said Ms Haley had “acted in the interest of her state and the nation” with her call to remove the flag from the State Capitol grounds. Saying “the Confederate battle flag is not worthy of respect”, the Washington Post said the “symbol of secession and opposition to civil rights should be removed.”

Haley has come in for praise from civil rights leader Al Sharpton too after he met her for the first time and shared a hug at the funeral services for the Charleston shooting victims. In clips Sharpton aired on his MSNBC show, the reverend said at the services that he spoke to Haley one-on-one, as opposed to how “she usually sees me out the window marching on her”.

“If you were protesting outside my window”, the governor replied when it was her turn to speak, “if you would have come inside and held out your hand, I would have hugged you”. Sharpton quickly responded: “I’ll hug you back.” Shortly thereafter, the two hugged each other and Sharpton, looking back on it, said: “It’s a step in the right direction.”