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As the second Republican presidential debate approached its end, the two South Carolinian candidates onstage — Sen. Tim Scott and former governor Nikki Haley — got into a bit of a squabble.
It all began when moderators asked Scott why he, a member of Congress, deserves a promotion to the White House when the public approval rating for Congress is at “a mere 19 percent.”
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“In 2013, Governor Haley hired you for the Senate. I’d like you to tell her why you should be promoted to CEO of the nation instead of her,” Fox News host Dana Perino asked, a reference to Haley’s appointment of Scott to the Senate in 2013 to replace retiring Sen. Jim DeMint (R).
Scott began listing economic policies and budget proposals he would work on if elected president. Perino then asked Haley if she thought Scott has done enough in Congress to merit a promotion to president.
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“Look, I appreciate Tim. We’ve known each other a long time, but he’s been there 12 years, and he hasn’t done any of that,” she said.
The exchange quickly devolved into a messy debate between the former governor and the senator, with Haley asking Scott about what he has actively done in the Senate to reduce the nation’s spending, and Scott accusing Haley of making the cost of living higher in South Carolina.
At one point, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis intervened.
“Ron, let me finish,” Scott said.
But DeSantis continued, taking the opportunity to talk about his record in Florida.
Then, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy jumped in.
“You’re talking about a CEO? We actually have a CEO in the room!” Ramaswamy said, referring to himself.
Perino interjected to note that there were actually two CEOs in the room — the other being North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who is also a businessman and has served on executive boards.
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Burgum, referencing his own entrepreneurial background, joined the exchange, using the opportunity to talk about his record as governor on energy policy, the border and the economy.
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Things appeared to get back on track after that — until Scott was asked another question.
Univision host Ilia Calderon asked Scott how his campaign is working to secure the Hispanic vote. Scott said that his chief of staff is the only Hispanic female chief of staff in the Senate, then quickly pivoted to the earlier conversation with Haley.
“I would love to finish my conversation with Nikki, as it relates to the job that needs to get done,” he said.
“Bring it, Tim,” Haley answered.
Scott claimed that Haley, as governor, offered a gas tax increase in South Carolina, and that, as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, she spent $50,000 on curtains.
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The latter claim dates to a 2018 New York Times article that implied that Haley had directly chosen to spend that much taxpayer money on curtains. The Times corrected the story to say that the decision to buy the curtains was made in 2016, during the Obama administration.
On the debate stage on Wednesday, Haley quickly sought to correct the record.
“You’ve got bad information,” Haley said. “First of all, I fought the gas tax in South Carolina multiple times, against the establishment.”
As Haley attempted to explain the reasoning behind that tax, Scott interrupted her. She interrupted back, voices were raised, and the exchange became unintelligible for a few seconds.
“The curtains! Do your homework, Tim! Because Obama bought those curtains,” Haley said.
“Did you send them back?” Scott rebutted.
An exasperated Haley replied: “It’s the State Department! Did you send them back? You’re the one who works in Congress!”
The squabble continued as the crowd laughed. At one point, more candidates joined in, the spectacle becoming a chaotic mishmash.
Fox Business Network host Stuart Varney cut in.
“We do not intend to go ahead like this,” he said. “In fact, we’re about to take a commercial break.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom shows up in the spin room of the second GOP presidential debate to defend President Biden. (Video: Billy Tucker/The Washington Post)
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