‘You’re just a scum’: Nikki Haley tears into vindictive Vivek after he said her daughter has a TikTok account and called Zelensky a ‘Nazi’ – as the crowd BOOS and his rivals fume
Nikki Haley attacked Vivek Ramaswamy during the Republican presidential debate on Wednesday, calling him “scum” after he attacked her daughter, who was sitting in the audience.
Ramaswamy went after the former South Carolina governor all the time, but Haley erupted when he attacked her family during a conversation on TikTok.
“In the last debate she made fun of me for joining TikTok even though her own daughter had been using the app for a long time, so you might want to take care of your own family first,” he said.
“Keep my daughter’s name out of your voice,” Haley snapped back, adding, “You’re just scum.”
Haley’s daughter Rena, 25, works as a pediatric nurse in South Carolina and was in the audience at the Florida debate.
Rena came on stage at the end of the evening to hug her mother. Ramaswamy, whose wife and sons came on stage to greet him, turned around the duo to avoid them.
Vivek Ramaswamy (right) attacked Nikki Haley’s (left) 25-year-old daughter Rena, who he noticed was on Tiktok after Haley criticized him for being on the app. “You might want to take care of your own family first,” he said. “Keep my daughter’s name out of your voice,” Haley snapped back, adding, “You’re just trash.”
The crowd booed as the heated exchange turned personal.
Ramaswamy was in attack mode from the start.
He used his opening statement to offer Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, the opportunity to take the stage and resign. And he criticized the debate moderators, calling them Democrats and falsely accusing them of throwing out the 2020 election results, causing Donald Trump to lose.
He also went after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling the war hero a “Nazi” and “a comedian in cargo pants.” Zelensky, is Jewish.
“Ukraine is not a model of democracy,” he noted. “It honored a Nazi in its ranks – the comedian in cargo pants, a man named Zelensky – who did it in their own ranks. It’s not democratic.’
Nikki Haley with her daughter Rena on the debate stage
Michael Haley and Nikki Haley with their daughter Rena and her husband Joshua Jackson
Haley went after him again.
“I tell you (Vladimir Putin) and President (Xi Jinping) are salivating at the thought that such a person could become president. They would like to see that,” she said, pointing to Ramaswamy.
Many Republicans have called on the US to stop funding Ukraine’s fight against Russia, arguing that the money would be better spent in the United States.
Ramaswamy has been one of Ukraine’s biggest critics, but his personal attack on Zelenskiy was a step further than he has gone in the past.
“To frame this as some kind of battle between good and evil, don’t buy into that,” Ramaswamy said of the war in Ukraine.
Chris Christie also followed up with an attack on Ramaswamy, warning: “those of us who forget history are doomed to repeat it.”
But it was Ramaswamy who delivered the hardest punches of the night so far, accusing Haley of profiting from her political career and hurling insults across the debate stage.
He called Haley, who is ranked third in several polls, just behind second-place Ron DeSantis, a “Dick Cheney in three-inch heels.”
Haley replied, “I would first like to say that they are 6 inch heels and I only wear them if you can run in them. …The second thing I would say is that I wear heels and they are not meant to be a fashion statement. They’re for ammunition.’
Ramaswamy left all the candidates – plus the head of the party – burning with anger.
He called on Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to resign, saying she was responsible for the party’s losses in Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio on Tuesday night.
“Since Ronna McDaniel took over as chair of the RNC in 2017, we have lost 2018, 2020 and 2022 – not a red wave that never came. We were defeated last night in 2023,” he said.
‘And I think we have to be accountable within our party. On that note, Ronna, if you want to come on stage tonight, look Republican voters in the eye and tell them you’re resigning, I’ll turn around and surrender my time to you.”
The top three contenders on stage at Wednesday’s Republican presidential primary debate came down with fire against Donald Trump, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, the moderators and each other as tensions ran high from the start. Photo from left: Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy
At the end of the debate, Ramaswamy was seen standing at the edge of the stage, leaning down to talk to McDaniel, who was sitting in the front row. The two appeared to be having a very heated conversation, talking animatedly and waving their hands at each other.
In addition, Ramaswamy attacked NBC News hosts Lester Holt and Kristen Welker, saying the moderators should be replaced by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, podcast host Joe Rogan and Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk.
“Kristen – I’m going to use this time because this is about you in the media and the corrupt media establishment, you ask – the Trump-Russia hoax that you pushed on this network for years, was that real or did Hillary Clinton break it up ? -disinformation? Answer the question. Go,” he demanded.
The NBC News moderator didn’t get a chance to respond as the audience applauded and cheered.