Last Updated: December 07, 2023, 09:04 IST
Nikki Haley looks on as fellow candidate Vivek Ramaswamy passes by, during a break at the fourth Republican candidates’ U.S. presidential debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign in Alabama, Dec 6. (Reuters)
Vivek Ramaswamy criticises Nikki Haley as ‘fascist’ over social media ID proposal. Controversial views on freedom of speech
Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy took a shot at former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley on Wednesday night during the fourth and final GOP debate, calling her a “fascist.”
“The only person more fascist than the Biden regime now is Nikki Haley, who thinks the government should identify every one of those individuals with an ID,” Ramaswamy said during the final Republican debate at Moody Music Hall at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
It’s no mystery why the establishment is propping up @NikkiHaley & why her Super PAC puppet masters are now bidding for her services again:+ Her family income *tripled* in her first 5 years after her first election in 2004+ Took hundreds of thousands $ in gifts while governor… pic.twitter.com/lzrY9myxBe
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 7, 2023
‘That is not freedom, that is fascism’
“That is not freedom, that is fascism, and she should come nowhere near the levers of power, let alone the White House,” he added. Ramaswamy was referring to a previous proposal offered by Haley suggesting that social media users needed to be verified by name. This was a continuation of the previous clash at earlier primaries. Last month, Vivek called out Nikki for criticising him for using TikTok despite her daughter also using the app. She responded saying, “You’re just scum.”
READ MORE: ‘Leave My Daughter Out…,’ Says Nikki Haley, Calling Ramaswamy A ‘Scum’ At 3rd GOP Debate
In the fourth Republican debate, Haley refused to take the bait from rival Ramaswamy during Wednesday night’s debate in Alabama, shrugging off an attack from the fellow Indian-American candidate. “No,” Haley said when asked by co-moderator Eliana Johnson if she wanted to respond to Ramaswamy’s attacks against her. “It’s not worth my time to respond to him.”
Wednesday’s debate occurred as the number of candidates on stage shrank, but the fundamentals of the Republican presidential debate were the same as the previous three meetings. No one has yet emerged as the clear Republican alternative to former President Donald Trump, whose lead is so significant that he has skipped all the debates.
The former UN envoy also faced blowback over her stance from some of her contenders, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and later adjusted her position on the matter. “I don’t mind anonymous American people having free speech; what I don’t like is anonymous Russians and Chinese and Iranians having free speech,” Haley explained during a CNBC interview.
She again defended her position on social media and freedom of speech, saying the issue was focused on foreign adversaries and not Americans. “What I said was that 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,” she explained.
(With agency inputs)
