Ms Haley told conservative political commentator and Blaze TV host Glenn Beck that the flag had meant “service, and sacrifice and heritage” to some.

An interview excerpt on social media also drew criticism from many who said the flag represents treason and racial hatred.

As governor, following the murders at the church in Charleston, Ms Haley openly backed removal of the flag that had flown over the South Carolina Statehouse.

In the Mr Beck interview, Ms Haley, a former United Nations ambassador for President Donald Trump, praised the people who were murdered by Dylann Roof as “amazing people” who loved their church and community.

In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings The church held its first service since a mass shooting left nine people dead during a bible study Reuters In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Parishioners embrace before services at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina Reuters In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings The sun rises behind the historic Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Church elders decided to hold the regularly scheduled Sunday school and worship service as they continue to grieve the death of nine of its members and its pastor Getty In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings A bicyclist rides in front of the Emanuel AME Church before the first worship service since nine people were fatally shot during a Bible study group, in Charleston AP In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings People arrive for Sunday services at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The African-American church in the southern US city of Charleston where nine people were slain by a white gunman re-opened for services the same day. Dylann Roof, 21, was charged 19 June with murdering nine people during Bible study EPA In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Church member Kevin Polite, right, helps members into the church, in Charleston, S.C AP In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings A police officer and his tracking dog pass the memorial site outside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. The African-American church in the southern US city of Charleston where nine people were slain by a white gunman will re-open for services the same day, local media reported EPA In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Television news crews set up temporary studios across the street from the Emanuel African Methodist Church before the Sunday service in Charleston, South Carolina. Church elders decided to hold the regularly scheduled Sunday school and worship service as they continue to grieve the death of nine of its members and its pastor Getty In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Walter Jackson, left, holds a photo of his mother Susie Jackson, one of the nine people killed in shooting at Emanuel AME Church AP In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings People attend a vigil at TD Arena for victims of the Charleston church shooting GETTY In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Mourners gather outside of Emauel AME church AP In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Hundreds rallied in support of the nine people shot dead at Emanuel African Methodist Church Getty In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Mourners pray and lay flowers during a community service for victims of the shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church Getty Images In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Gary and Aurelia Washington, center left and right, the son and granddaughter of Ethel Lance who died in the shooting, leave a sidewalk memorial in front of Emanuel AME Church comforted by fellow family members In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Curtis Clayton holds a sign protesting racism after the fatal shooting at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Mourners light candles for the nine victims of the shooting at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Charleston shooting suspect Dylann Storm Roof is escorted from the Cleveland County Courthouse in Shelby AP In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Rev Al Sharpton holds a group prayer outside Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church where nine people were killed Getty Images In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Worshippers in Charleston, South Carolina, across the street from Emanuel AME Church, where six women and three men were shot dead AP In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings A passing motorist looks out her window as she stops at an intersection down the street from the Emanuel AME Church In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Surreace Cox, of North Charleston, holds a sign during a prayer vigil down the street from the Emanuel AME Church In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings A police officer uses a flashlight while searching the area following a shooting in Charleston In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Police talk to a man outside the Emanuel AME Church following a shooting In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings The steeple of Emanuel AME Church is visible as police close off a section of Calhoun Street following a shooting in Charleston In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings A visitor contemplates floral tributes close to the church where a white man shot dead nine black people at a Bible study class AP In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings Charleston Police Chief Gregory Mullen, center, addresses the media while joined by Mayor Joseph Riley, right, down the street from the Emanuel AME Church, following a shooting in Charleston In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings A man reacts while talking to police officer near the scene of shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings An armed police officer moves up Calhoun Street following a shooting In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings An impromptu prayer Twitter/David Goldman/AP In pictures: Charleston Church Shooting Charleston Church Shootings A man kneels across the street from where police gather outside the Emanuel AME Church following a shooting Wednesday AP

Then she discussed Roof, an avowed white supremacist who, following the killings, was seen in photos with the flag.

“And here is this guy that comes out with this manifesto holding the Confederate flag, and had just hijacked everything that people thought of — and we don’t have hateful people in South Carolina. There’s always the small minority that’s always going to be there. But, people saw it as service and sacrifice and heritage. But once he did that, there was no way to overcome it,” Ms Haley said.

Critics included state senator Marlon Kimpson. “I find these comments ignorant of history and the facts,” he said on Twitter.

In response, Ms Haley posted a tweet saying she stands by her 2015 call to remove the flag. She included a link to her 2015 remarks backing removal of the flag, saying it was revered by many in the state, while many consider it “a deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past”.