Ramaswamy: Ban Minors From Social Media Platforms (Which I’m Using To Reach Out To “Young Americans”)

USA Today reports:

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy defended his decision at Wednesday’s debate to join TikTok earlier this month, saying he was making a bid for youth voters.

Fox Business Network host Stuart Varney asked the entrepreneur why he decided to join the Chinese-owned platform that has been banned on federal government devices.

“I have a radical idea for the Republican Party. We need to win elections. Part of how we win elections is reaching the next generation of young Americans where they are,” Ramaswamy said.

The Hill reports:

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy argued Wednesday night that children under 16 should not be using “addictive” social media platforms.

“This isn’t a Republican point or a Democrat point,” Ramaswamy said at the second GOP presidential debate in Simi Valley, Calif. “But if you’re 16 years old or under, you should not be using an addictive social media product, period.”

“I refuse to be a passive bystander, sitting in the White House like the hollowed-out husk of a current president we have,” Ramaswamy added.

When asked why he made a TikTok account despite security concerns, Vivek Ramaswamy says Republicans need to reach “the next generation of young Americans where they are.”

“We’re only ever going to get to declaring independence from China…if we actually win.” pic.twitter.com/KBqTRTZMZt

— ABC News (@ABC) September 28, 2023

Haley hit back at Ramaswamy, saying he was wrong on TikTok, arguing that she feels dumber every time she hears him talk, and went after him for doing business in China

Latest: https://t.co/0RBg56h61w pic.twitter.com/xC7aeCT59g

— Bloomberg (@business) September 28, 2023

Nikki Haley tore into Vivek Ramaswamy for his flip-flop on TikTok—and for his talking points in general. “Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say,” she said. #GOPDebatehttps://t.co/qRjAbPtkZJ

— The New Republic (@newrepublic) September 28, 2023

Haley to Ramaswamy: Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber pic.twitter.com/sK7UNryOyl

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 28, 2023

Nikki Haley once blurbed a book by Vivek Ramaswamy. But in Wednesday’s debate, she said she felt “dumber” every time she hears him.

Kirsten Kukowski, an advisor to Haley, says Ramaswamy’s foreign policy “gets under her skin,” and “he wants to make this a divide in the party” pic.twitter.com/leY64M9eZT

— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 28, 2023