‘It’s not worth my time to respond to him,’ Haley says reacting to Vivek Ramaswamy swipe
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy had another tussle in Wednesday’s GOP presidential debate that included the billionaire entrepreneur holding up a handwritten sign that said “Nikki = Corrupt.”
Ramaswamy accused Haley of using identity politics in her campaign when she said a woman was needed to do the job.
“I reject the use of identity politics in this party. It has been a cancer coming from the left and I’m sick and tired of the double standards, the people of this country are too,” Ramaswamy said. “Having two X chromosomes does not immunize you from criticism.”
Haley chose not to hit back when moderators offered her the opportunity.
“It’s not worth my time to respond to him,” Haley said.
It was just the latest skirmish between the two Indian Americans seeking the Republican nomination for president, a battle that shows a disdain between the two.
Ramaswamy is a 38-year-old billionaire entrepreneur who has written three books, including “Woke Inc.” where he argues politics should not be in business.
“Nikki Haley was heaping praise on me when I wrote (my) book, but now I worry I was warning about the woke industrial complex in this country as a warning. Apparently she read it as a how-to manual just like she reads George Orwell’s books,” Ramaswamy said Wednesday night.
Ramaswamy was referring to Haley’s call for name verification on social media platforms, which led to criticism from Ramaswamy and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“Social media companies need to show us their algorithms. I also said there are millions of bots on social media right now. They’re foreign, they’re Chinese, they’re Iranian. I will always fight for freedom of speech for Americans. We do not need freedom of speech for Russians and Iranians and Hamas. We need social media companies to go and fight back on all of these bots that are happening,” Haley said. “As a mom, do I think that social media would be more civil if we went and had people’s names next to that? Yes, I do think that because I think we’ve got too much cyberbullying. I think we’ve got child pornography and all of those things.”
Earlier Ramaswamy criticized Haley for accepting support from corporate donors, saying she would be swayed by their influence.
“In terms of these donors that are supporting me, they’re just jealous. They wish that they were supporting them,” Haley said.
The attacks over her corporate support come after a super PAC supporting Haley’s candidacy received a $250,000 contribution from a wealthy Democratic donor, Linkedin co-founder Reid Hoffman. Haley also recently received the endorsement of the Koch network’s Americans for Prosperity Action.
And Haley previously served on the board of Boeing.
Ramaswamy and Haley also had a notable scuffle in the November debate when Ramaswamy pointed out how Haley’s daughter, Rena Haley Jackson, previously used TikTok as Haley calls for a ban on the social media video app.
“Leave my daughter out of your voice,” Haley said to Ramaswamy. “You’re just scum.”
