INDIAN-ORIGIN entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running for the US president's office in next year's election, targeted Republican opponent Nikki Haley yet again on the debate stage on Thursday (8) and this time, he lobbed a personal insult at the only woman candidate in the fray.
The 37-year-old Ramaswamy compared the foreign policy viewpoints of Haley, also a leader of Indian-origin, with former GOP vice president Dick Cheney (2001-09) as the candidates spoke over Israel's ongoing war with Hamas in the Middle East and referred to her as "Dick Cheney in three-inch heels".
Attacking Haley, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, Ramaswamy said, “Do you want a leader from a different generation, who’s going to put this country first," he asked.
"Or do you want Dick Cheney in three-inch heels?"
Haley hit back saying she wears "five-inch heels" and added, "I don't wear them unless you can run in them."
“I wear heels, they’re not for a fashion statement, they’re for ammunition,” the former governor of South Carolina state added.
The comparison to Cheney was part of the debating candidates' hawkish foreign-policy stances. While Haley is a strong believer in providing financial support to Ukraine in its war with Russia, Ron DeSantis, governor of the state of Florida who was also present at the debate along with former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and senator Tim Scott, said he would deploy America armed forces to the country's southern border and authorise troops to deal with drug traffickers using lethal force.
'Just scum'
The debate involving the two leaders saw another heated moment when Ramaswamy went after Haley's 25-year-old daughter. He said she had joined TikTok even as Haley slammed him at a previous debate for using the app despite the fact that its linked to China, a country that he often criticises strongly.
“She made fun of me for actually joining TikTok while her own daughter was actually using the app for a long time,” he said.
“Leave my daughter out of your voice,” Haley reacted.
“Just scum,” she added.
This photograph taken on April 28, 2026 shows a boy getting "thali", a sacred thread tied to his neck symbolising marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.Getty Images
This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows a member of the transgender community mourning as a priest cuts the "thali", a sacred thread symbolising end of her marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom. Getty Images
