Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley sparred with fellow GOP presidential candidate and avid TikTok user Vivek Ramaswamy during Wednesday night’s debate, with Haley calling Ramaswamy "scum" after the 38-year-old entrepreneur invoked Haley's daughter.
Ramaswamy attempted to defend his use of the Chinese spyware app by claiming Haley’s daughter also uses TikTok. His comment drew boos from the Republican audience.
"In the last debate, she made fun of me for actually joining TikTok, while her own daughter was actually using the app for a long time," Ramaswamy said of Haley. "So maybe you might want to take care of your family first before preaching to anybody else."
As Ramaswamy finished his sentence, Haley snapped: "Leave my daughter out of your voice. You’re just scum."
Ramaswamy says he uses TikTok to connect with younger voters, a line he repeated Wednesday night. The "next generation of Americans are using it, and that’s actually the point," he said.
Haley also criticized Ramaswamy for praising TikTok during the last Republican presidential debate, saying, "Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say."