(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
- At the third GOP debate, the candidates sparred in Miami.
- Things got particularly heated between Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy on the topic of TikTok.
- Ramaswamy brought up Haley's daughter, who responded by calling him "scum."
There were few fireworks during the third GOP presidential debate in Miami.
But a question about TikTok caused a flareup between former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
During a line of questioning around foreign policy — particularly about China — moderator Hugh Hewitt asked a question about banning the popular social media platform, which is owned by Chinese company Bytedance.
Ramaswamy was asked how he can get TikTok banned if he uses the platform. Instead of answering the question directly, he turned the spotlight onto Haley, saying her daughter has been on the app "for a long time."
"So you might want to take care of your family first," he continued, to the sound of boos in the audience.
"Leave my daughter out of your voice," Haley shot back.
Then she muttered to herself: "You are just scum."
“Leave my daughter out of your voice ... You’re just scum.”
— The Recount (@therecount) November 9, 2023
— Nikki Haley hits Vivek Ramaswamy after he brings up the fact that her daughter, like him, uses TikTok. pic.twitter.com/3CKUupHaD1
The debate around banning TikTok in the US is becoming an increasingly heated one, with lawmakers fearing that ByteDance could be forced to hand over user data to China's government.
Calls to ban the social media platform started back in July 2020 when then-President Trump threatened to do so, citing national security concerns.
Later, the Trump administration pushed TikTok to sell its US operations but a deal for Oracle and Walmart to acquire the platform fell through when Trump left office.
The calls have persisted during the Biden administration, which has supported a bipartisan bill that could ban TikTok nationwide.
In December, the Senate passed a bill that would ban the app on all government-issued devices.
In May, Montana became the first state to pass legislation to ban TikTok. TikTok is also banned on state government devices in over two dozen states, including Ohio and New Jersey.
But the chilly reception toward TikTok in Washington isn't shared by the platform's ardent user base. In fact, TikTok's popularity is eclipsing Google's. According to Google's internal data last year, nearly 40% of Gen Z prefers using TikTok and Instagram over Google to conduct searches.