If you missed it, here's what happened:

RAMASWAMY: I want to laugh at why Nikki Haley didn’t answer your question which is about looking at families in the eye. In the last debate, she made fun of me for actually joining TikTok while her own daughter was actually using the app for a long time. So, you might want to take care of your family first before preaching to anyone else –

HALEY: Leave my daughter out of your voice.

RAMASWAMY: The next generation of Americans are using it and that’s actually the point. You have her supporters crapping her up. That’s fine. Here’s the truth, the easiest –

HALEY: You’re just scum.

It looked a little something like this:

Ramaswamy was trying to get a rise out of Haley, and she took the bait. In her defense, though, she reacted like most mothers would in that situation: You can attack me, but keep my kids out of it, punk.

Their interaction led to lots of discussion online about whether or not a presidential candidate's children are fair game when it comes to politics. The White House press corps has a long-standing tradition of not reporting on presidential offspring, especially when they are under the age of 18. As in all things corporate media these days, this tradition waxes and wanes depending on which party occupies the White House. 

Back in the Obama days, his daughters were kept out of the headlines and left alone to go to school and grow up. That's how it should be when young children are involved. Barron Trump, by contrast, was often the target of malicious stories; the sins of the father were unfairly visited upon the son and his name often found its way into headlines.

Hunter Biden has obviously set a whole new standard by using his father's name to meddle and enrich himself. He is so conspicuous in his misdeeds that he and his felonious antics cannot be ignored; the media must cover that level of corruption. They mostly don't, of course, but they should.

But when it comes to presidential candidates, should they try to hit their opponents by bringing their children into political debates? It goes without saying that young children should never be used as a cudgel with which to hit their parents. Leaving little kids out of it will always be the decent thing to do.

Today's world of oversharing on social media brings with it the more difficult question of how to handle the adult children of candidates and politicians. Nikki Haley's daughter, Rena -- the target of Ramaswamy's attack -- is active on X/Twitter and Instagram, but her pages are full of images from her recent wedding and her career as a nurse; it appears her TikTok account has now been deleted or is set to private. It seems like she's all-in on supporting her mom, but not in an overtly political way on her socials. 

HOWEVER ...

Haley's son, Nalin, a 22-year-old college student, has most definitely stepped into the ring by consistently posting political content to his social media. For instance:

Someone help me spot the difference I’m having trouble… pic.twitter.com/AiM6OK7ia5

— Nalin Haley (@Nalin_Haley) November 9, 2023

There's no way of knowing if Nikki Haley approves of her son's posting habits, but considering her "scum" comment at the debate, it was surprising to see a fundraising appeal hit inboxes on Friday from none other than Nalin Haley.

Hmm...

Here's part of the letter:

Here’s the deal: Wednesday night's debate made one thing abundantly clear – my mom is THE front-runner in this race. And every single person up there on stage with her knew it.

That's why they attacked her so much. And that's why they decided to come for my sister Rena, too.

It looks like Nikki Haley is trying to have it both ways, right? You're "scum" if you mention her kids, but it's a-okay to have them sign fundraising solicitations for you? Having family members sign fundraising letters is a tried-and-true tactic that often brings in an uptick in donations for candidates. No shame in that game.

But if you're going to make a big deal about not having your kids' names on your opponents' "voices," it's probably a good idea not to have your kids' names on your fundraising emails. Possibly not a big deal, but it was definitely a misfire by the Haley campaign staff, especially less than 48 hours after the debate dustup. It unnecessarily opens her up to legitimate criticism for actually being the one to make her kids fair game in her campaign. 

Meanwhile, Ramaswamy is doing some fundraising of his own, capitalizing on the "scum" moment to print up t-shirts and other merchandise. Was it petty of him to bring Nikki Haley's daughter into the debate? Yes. Is Haley making herself vulnerable to these lines of attack? Absolutely.