Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Sunday doubled down on her much-quoted jab at fellow candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in last week's debate.
Haley again assailed Ramaswamy for saying Republicans should be on TikTok because it was a way to reach out to young people. "Just because 150 million people are on it, doesn't mean you do it because it's politically popular," she said on "Fox News Sunday."
The former U.N. ambassador contended it was a matter of national security.
"This is the Chinese Communist Party, who is doing espionage," she said of TikTok.
Haley had mocked the entrepreneur over his remarks on TikTok in Wednesday's debate, saying, "Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber."
Host Shannon Bream noted that Haley previously had nice things to say about Ramaswamy, writing a blurb for "Woke, Inc.," one of his books. "In Woke, Inc., Vivek speaks the truth without fear," she wrote at the time.
Haley said Sunday there was no contradiction there.
"I always praise people when they deserve to be praised," she said, "and I hit people when they deserve to be hit."
Ramaswamy said during the debate that Republicans were being unrealistic in refusing to make use of TikTok.
“I have a radical idea for the Republican Party,” he said. “We need to win elections. And part of how we win elections is reaching the next generation of young Americans where they are.”
