Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said she was “showing a lot of restraint” when she called fellow White House hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy “scum” during the party’s third debate Wednesday night.
Host Bill Hemmer asked Haley on Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom” whether she feels the same way Thursday after making the comment the night prior.
“I mean, Bill, that was showing a lot of restraint. That’s all I’ll say. That was showing a lot of restraint,” Haley said.
“He threw a petty shot there. I mean, it says more about him than it does about me,” she added.
Ramaswamy and Haley, among the five GOP candidates who qualified for the debate stage, sparred several times from behind their podiums.
“Do you want a leader from a different generation who’s going to put this country first, or do you want Dick Cheney in 3-inch heels?” Ramaswamy said at one point, in reference to Haley, a former U.N. ambassador.
But Haley labeled the 38-year-old entrepreneur “scum” when he brought up her daughter as he took a swipe at her over TikTok, the video-sharing app that’s come under scrutiny over data security concerns.
“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. So you might want to take care of your family first,” Ramaswamy said.
“Leave my daughter out of your voice,” Haley hit back. “You’re just scum,” she added.
The exchange was noted among the night’s most memorable moments. Haley, who saw promising polling ahead of the event, was looked at as a top target as she and her GOP competitors jostle to close the significant lead held by former President Trump.
In the “America’s Newsroom” interview, Haley criticized the “personal hits” she saw on the debate stage.
“You know, it’s just that this is a serious time in our country. And this is not the time that you need to have, you know, these personal hits. My daughter’s 25 years old,” Haley said.
“I think the bigger point is there are big differences between me and Ramaswamy,” she added.