GOP presidential candidates Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy sparred at the party's third debate.
Ramaswamy, who poked at Haley earlier for her foreign policy views, hounded her again for criticizing his use of the Chinese social media platform TikTok — flagged by some as a national security concern.
"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 pointed out. "So you might want to take care of your family first."
Haley interjected: "Leave my daughter out of your voice. You're just scum."
The audience, largely Republican donors, booed the young, conservative businessman.
"You have her supporters propping her up, that's fine," Ramaswamy said amid the jeering.
Former President Donald Trump is currently leading the Republican primary field by a comfortable 42 percentage points, according to a FiveThirtyEight average of polls.
He was not present at the debate in Miami, hosted by NBC News. Instead, he held a rally in the neighboring city of Hialeah, Florida, where he largely ignored the debate.
The next closest candidate to Trump is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, at 13.9%. Haley follows him, at 9%; Ramaswamy, at 5.2%; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, at 2.9%; and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, at 2.2%.
All of those five participated in the third debate.
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.