During the second GOP debate on Wednesday, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley remarked to fellow Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, “Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.”
Nikki Haley to Vivek Ramaswamy:
"Honestly, every time I hear you I feel a little bit dumber." pic.twitter.com/gdMAbs3swy
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 28, 2023
Haley’s remarks followed Ramaswamy’s response to a question regarding the Chinese-origin social media platform TikTok.
Ramaswamy justified his use of TikTok, emphasizing to the debate moderators that Republicans “need to win elections, and part of how we win elections is reaching the next generation of young Americans where they are.”
He said, “We’re only going to ever get to declaring independence from China, which I favor, if we actually win. So while the Democrats are running rampant, reaching the next generation three to one, there’s exactly one person in the Republican Party which talks a big game about reaching young people, and that’s me.”
Following that, Ramaswamy expressed that his administration would be comprised of “the best people, the best and brightest in this country, whatever age they are,” and that this would encompass “many of the people on the stage.”
He added, “That’s how I built my companies. I want to be challenged. I want people who disagree with me. That’s what makes America great because we’re not a perfect nation. We’re founded on the pursuit of perfection. And that is what makes America great.”
Haley expressed her frustration with Ramaswamy’s position on TikTok, labeling it as “infuriating.” She went on to state, “This is infuriating because TikTok is one of the most dangerous social media apps that we could have, and I honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.”
Haley proceeded to highlight TikTok’s data collection from Americans. She said, “What they’re doing is, these 150 million people are on TikTok, that means they can get your contacts. They can get your financial information. They can get your emails; they can get your text messages. They can get all of these things. China knows exactly what they’re doing.”
Haley then asserted that Ramaswamy had business ties with the Chinese entity that provided Hunter Biden with $5 million and said to him, “We can’t trust you.”
