Nikki Haley grins as Vivek Ramaswamy is BOOED by Alabama crowd for holding up a sign calling her ‘corrupt’ – after he compared her campaign launch to a ‘woke Dylan Mulvaney Bud Light ad’
Former UN Ambassador. Nikki Haley grinned as the crowd booed Vivek Ramaswamy during the Republicans' fourth primary debate for calling her “corrupt” — and held up a notebook saying so.
Ramaswamy, as in previous debates, took some particularly nasty swipes at Haley – including accusing her of using “identity politics” for throwing out the fact she was a woman during her 2024 election.
The 38-year-old tech entrepreneur claimed Haley's launch video 'sounded like a woke Dylan Mulvaney Bud Light ad talking about how she was going to kick in heels'
“During the first debate, she said only a woman could do this job,” Ramaswamy said. “After the third debate, when I criticized Ronna McDaniel for five failed years of leading this party, and criticized Nikki for her corrupt foreign dealings as a military contractor, she said I had a 'woman problem.'
“Maybe I don't have a woman problem, but you have a corruption problem,” he accused.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy held up the notepad he was given during the fourth Republican debate, which showed he had scribbled “Nikki = Corrupt”
Former UN Ambassador. Nikki Haley reacts as Ramaswamy was booed for holding up a notepad and calling her 'corrupt' during Wednesday's fourth GOP primary debate
Ramaswamy had scribbled something on his notepad at the top of the debate.
He showed it to the audience at that moment: 'Nikki = Corrupt.'
“And I think that's what people need to know. Nikki is corrupt,” he said, holding up the tablet.
Ramaswamy was booed, while Haley tried not to smile.
When moderator Eliana Johnson asked Haley if she wanted to respond, she demurred.
“No, it's not worth my time to respond to him,” she said.
Later, Ramaswamy's senior advisor and communications director Tricia McLaughlin told DailyMail.com that the 'Nikki = Corrupt' sign was planned.
“I think we messed with it a little bit. It's very meme-able. And finally he did it. It was pretty last minute… He probably took more notes, but that was the most important note,” she said.
For most of the debate, Haley had an ally in New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who furiously defended her against another attack in Ramaswamy — that she wouldn't be able to point out certain Ukrainian counties on a map.
Ramaswamy talked about the need for a “reasonable peace deal” in Ukraine's war with Russia, then turned to Haley and said she and President Joe Biden were among the only two politicians who believed in the “senseless war.”
“One thing that Joe Biden and Nikki Haley have in common is that neither of them can name for you even three provinces in eastern Ukraine that they want to send our troops to actually fight for,” Ramaswamy said.
“She has no idea what the names of these provinces are where she wants to send our sons and daughters, our troops and our military equipment to fight,” he continued.
“So reject the myth that they sold you – that someone had a cup of coffee, had a job at the UN and then made $8 million – that you have real foreign policy experience,” Ramaswamy added to.
Haley kept a straight face during the attack.
“Look at the blank expression,” Ramaswamy said. “She doesn't know the names of the provinces.”
He argued that his “outsider” status gives him an elevated perspective.
When it was Christie's turn, the former governor of New Jersey called out this attack.
“This is the fourth debate where you are voted the most annoying puncher in America in the first 20 minutes,” he told Ramaswamy.
Christie described Haley as a “smart, talented woman.”
“I want to say something else, we're 25 minutes into this debate and he has insulted Nikki Haley's basic intelligence, not her positions, her basic intelligence,” he roared. “She doesn't know regions, she couldn't find something on a map that his three-year-old son could.”
“Look, if you want to disagree on certain issues, that's fine, and Nikki and I disagree on some issues. But I'll tell you this: I've known her for 12 years, which is longer than he even started voting in the Republican primaries,” Christie added.