‘You’re just scum’: Haley and Ramaswamy Tussle on stage

It quickly became personal. Then things got ugly.

One of the most emotional moments of Wednesday’s Republican debate came when Vivek Ramaswamy said he wanted to laugh at Nikki Haley’s promise to ban TikTok over national security concerns.

Mr. Ramaswamy, the Ohio entrepreneur, scolded Ms. Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, for allowing her adult daughter to use the app, which Mr. Ramaswamy defends.

“She made fun of me for actually joining TikTok when her own daughter had been using the app for a long time,” Mr Ramaswamy said. “So you might want to take care of your family first before preaching to anyone else.”

“Leave my daughter out of your voice,” Mrs. Haley snapped back.

Ms. Haley’s words evoked, however fleetingly, Will Smith’s outburst at the Academy Awards just after he punched Chris Rock, yelling at the comedian for taking Mr. Smith’s wife’s name out of his had to keep quiet.

“The next generation of Americans is using it, and that’s kind of the point,” Mr. Ramaswamy continued, as some boos erupted from the audience. “You have her supporters supporting her – that’s fine.”

Ms. Haley, unlike Mr. Smith, kept her hands to herself.

“You’re just scum,” she told Mr. Ramaswamy.