Haley brands Ramaswamy ‘scum’ in fiery GOP debate

Among the many spirited exchanges the 2024 Republican presidential candidates engaged in during Wednesday evening’s GOP debate, Nikki Haley calling Vivek Ramaswamy “scum” was one of the most memorable.

During the third Republican debate, moderators asked candidates how they would approach handling security concerns associated with China and TikTok – a topic that candidates had sparred over in previous debates.

When Ms Haley said the app was detrimental, Mr Ramaswamy called out her daughter.

“In the last debate, [Ms Haley] made fun of me for actually joining TikTok while her own daughter was actually using the app for a long time so you might want to take care of your family first,” Mr Ramaswamy shot at Ms Haley.

The former UN ambassador responded furiously, “Leave my daughter out of your voice.”

Mr Ramaswamy’s insult was met with boos from the audience.

“You’re just scum,” Ms Haley added shaking her head.

The two candidates have butt heads in previous debates. During the first debate, Ms Haley attacked Mr Ramaswamy’s foreign policy saying he would make America less safe. In the second debate, the former South Carolina governor said she felt “a little bit dumber” every time Mr Ramaswamy spoke.

But Wednesday night’s attack was the most personal yet between the two.

Mr Ramaswamy invoking Ms Haley’s daughter to call the former UN ambassador a hypocrite was just the peak of arguments between the two.

Earlier in the evening, Mr Ramaswamy referred to Ms Haley as well as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as “Dick Cheney in three-inch heels” – an allusion to rumours that Mr DeSantis wears heeled shoes.

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