GOP debate updates: TV ratings plummet as Haley addresses ‘scum’ spat
Five candidates faced off in the NBC News-hosted event in Miami, Florida
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The third Republican primary debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, featured a number of contentious exchanges over candidates’ policies and records with even the moderators and RNC chair Ronna McDaniel coming under fire early on.
Five candidates qualified for the showdown, broadcast by NBC News – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, biotech entrepreneur and woke-bashing author Vivek Ramaswamy, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Former President Donald Trump also qualified but did not attend, instead speaking at a rally in nearby Hialeah, Florida.
There were a number of fiery tussles throughout the evening including when Mr Ramaswamy was booed by the crowd for an attack on Ms Haley’s daughter with the former UN ambassador calling him “scum” in response — many agreed with her assessment.
Despite the fireworks, TV ratings slumped to the lowest yet in the 2024 cycle, with just 7.51 million viewers tuning in, according to NBC News.
The next debate is set for 6 December in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and will be hosted by NewsNation.
Let’s talk about DeSantis’s tongue... no, really
The height of political conversation has shifted from focusing on Florida Gov Ron DeSantis’s hypothetical heels to his tongue after the presidential hopeful participated in the third GOP debate.
Social media users have been pointing out Mr DeSantis’s inability to keep his tongue in his mouth, posting clips showing the Florida Republican licking his lips in interviews and his tongue popping through a smile on the debate stage.
“WTF is going on with his snake tongue?” Meidas Touch editor-in-chief Ron Flipowski posted on X, alongside an interview of the governor on NBC News.
One user commented with a snake emoji, others posted gifs of snakes for comparison. “Lizard people are real,” another user commented.
Kelly Rissman has the story.
Tim Scott seems to ‘soft launch’ new girlfriend Mindy Noce at debate
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott appeared to “soft launch” his girlfriend at the Republican debate in Miami.
Mr Scott, whose bachelor status has regularly been reported on during the campaign, brought Mindy Noce, an interior designer and a mother of three from Charleston, up on stage after the debate to pose for a photo.
Initially, it was unclear who Ms Noce was as she stood next to Mr Scott, but her appearance sparked online speculation that she could be his often-mentioned but never-before-seen partner.
Mr Scott, 58, told the press after the debate that they have been dating for “about a year”.
Haley tells Fox News she showed ‘a lot of restraint’ in only calling Ramaswamy ‘scum’
In an appearance on Fox News this morning, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley was asked about calling Vivek Ramaswamy “scum” for mentioning her daughter at the GOP debate.
The entrepreneur was loudly booed on stage in Miami last night for attacking Ms Haley’s daughter’s use of TikTok leading to the angry retort from the former governor of South Carolina. Ms Ramaswamy has been widely scorned on social media and in the press for his remark (and other comments he made during the debate.).
Fox News' Bill Hemmer asked Ms Haley about her response: “Do you want to continue with that today? Do you feel the same way?”
She replied: “I mean ... That was showing a lot of restraint. That’s all I’ll say.”
Watch below:
Ronna McDaniel hits back after debate attack by Ramaswamy
Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel clapped back at Vivek Ramaswamy after he argued that the GOP has done nothing but lose since she took over the party.
“He’s at four per cent. He needs a headline,” Ms McDaniel said on Fox Business. She argued that the biotech entrepreneur is “kind of new to the party. He voted for Obama”.
Mr Ramaswamy has said that he didn’t vote in either election that President Barack Obama was on the ballot, according to Reuters.
VIDEO: Haley calls Ramaswamy ‘scum’ for referencing her daughter during debate
Moment Nikki Haley snubs Vivek Ramaswamy, shaking hands with every other GOP candidate
Nikki Haley shook hands with each of her GOP rivals, except Vivek Ramaswamy, after a fiery third Republican debate resulted in the two candidates clashing on stage.
Ms Haley appeared to snub the controversial pharma CEO, after Ramaswamy criticized her daughter’s use of TikTok.
He quipped she should “take care” of her family first before speaking on the topic, to boos from the audience.
Visibly enraged, Haley fired back: “Keep my daughter’s name out your voice”
“You’re just scum”, she muttered.
Addressing Mr Ramaswamy’s performance after the event, Ms Haley said he would make America “less safe” if he won the presidency.
Watch: Nikki Haley says she was showin ‘a lot of restraint’ calling Ramaswamy ‘scum'
Ramaswamy slammed for bringing up Haley’s daughter in GOP debate: ‘He went too far’
Vivek Ramaswamy has been slammed by social media users for “going to far” after he brought up Nikki Haley‘s daughter during the third GOP debate on Wednesday night.
In a heated moment – that culminated in Ms Haley branding him “scum” and refusing to shake his hand at the end of the debate – the far-right candidate singled out his Republican presidential rival’s child on stage.
“In the last debate, [Ms Haley] made fun of me for actually joining TikTok while her own daughter was actually using the app for a long time,” Mr Ramaswamy said, bringing up a month-old comment the former UN ambassador made about his use of TikTok.
“So you might want to take care of your family first,” he added.
His quip prompted booing from the shocked audience while Ms Haley was visibly outraged by the personal attack.
“Leave my daughter out of your voice,” she fired back. “You’re just scum.”
Following the debate, Ms Haley’s son Nalin Haley also leaped to defend his family members, and give Mr Ramaswamy a nickname.
Next GOP debate set to air on NewsNation
The next GOP debate is set to air on NewsNation and will be moderators by Megyn Kelly, a former Fox News anchor who famously clashed with Donald Trump in 2016, Elizabeth Vargas of NewsNation, and Eliana Johnson, the editor in chief of the conservative Washington Free Beacon.
GOP mudslinging and the battle for second place: Five takeaways
The third Republican primary debate was an ugly slugfest reminiscent of the earliest Trump debates of 2015 — except the former president wasn’t even there.
A group of five candidates, minus their party’s frontrunner, appeared onstage Wednesday evening in Miami for what was billed as a presidential debate but in the end may have just been an exercise in futility, given the continued dominance of Donald Trump in every available poll of the GOP primary.
What transpired over two hours was a slugfest that served as a reminder of what Mr Trump has done to this party, and raised the question of whether his shadow will loom over Republicans long after he fades from relevance.
Let’s look at the main takeaways from Wednesday’s showdown:
GOP mudslinging and the battle for second place: Five takeaways from debate
Another Trumpless debate poses the question: When does any of this start to matter?
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