'You're just scum': Haley swipes at Ramaswamy at Republican debate

[November 09, 2023]  By Alexandra Ulmer
 
(Reuters) - Presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy make no secret of their dislike for each other and their animosity came to a head at the Republican debate on Wednesday, with Haley muttering under her breath that her rival was "just scum." 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis licks his lips back and forth as former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and former biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy argue on either side of him at the third Republican candidates' U.S. presidential debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign hosted by NBC News at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Ramaswamy, a pugnacious entrepreneur who delights in making outrageous statements, provoked groans from the audience during a discussion on banning TikTok when he mentioned that Haley's daughter had used the Chinese short video app.

"You might want to take care of your family first," he told Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a former governor of South Carolina.

"Leave my daughter out of your voice," Haley shot back, adding under her breath, "You're just scum."

It was not the first time Haley, a foreign policy hawk, and Ramaswamy, an anti-interventionist on foreign conflicts, have clashed over TikTok. "Every time I hear you I feel a little bit dumber," Haley said after they crossed swords about the app during a previous encounter in September.

On social media platform X, Haley's son, Nalin Haley, said Ramaswamy's attack was "desperate," adding that his sister's TikTok account was deleted a "very very long time ago."

Haley is vying with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to become the top challenger to runaway favorite Donald Trump in the Republican nominating contest. Ramaswamy, a relative unknown at the start of the year, gained buzz earlier this year but appears to have since lost momentum.

(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Ross Colvin and Howard Goller)

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