The confrontation between Healy and Ramaswamy escalates as Suarez’s tenure expires, and other important matters of the campaign

Former South Carolina governor Nikki Healy and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy blasted each other in last week’s GOP presidential primary debate, and the spat has only gotten fiercer.

The two have sparred over their names, foreign policy, and more, with no end in sight.

Meanwhile, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez suspended his presidential campaign on Tuesday, making him the first presidential candidate to drop out of the race.

Here’s what you need to know from the campaign trail.

what’s in a name?

Haley and Ramaswamy made headlines at last week’s debate after their disagreement over foreign policy — Haley slammed Ramaswamy for his lack of experience, and Ramaswamy responded to the attack by suggesting that Haley was running for a seat on the board of a defense contractor.

The attacks became more personal in the days that followed.

Ramaswamy launched the first installment of the second round of the fight by addressing her on behalf of her government on his newly launched “Truth. Above Myth” page.

He said about Nikki Haley for criticizing his position on Israel: “Keep lying, Nimarata Randawa.” Nemarata was born Nikki Randhawa. Haley is her married name.

It’s unclear why Ramaswamy, who like Healy is Indian-American, would use her legal name, though that may be part of an effort to portray her as non-native.

On Monday, Haley dismissed this statement, telling Fox News. “I won’t go into childish swearing or anything else, or make fun of my name that he does.”

“How is he making fun of her name? His name is Vivek Ramaswamy,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for Ramaswamy’s campaign, told ABC News.

Haley fired back on Tuesday, slamming him for his remarks and foreign policy toward Israel after he said he would enter into more peace deals with other historically hostile countries while rolling back US support for Jerusalem by 2028.

@VivekGRamaswamy attacks Desperate attempts at damage control do not change the way he treats our friend Israel and how his dangerous policies are making America less safe. Israel faces genocidal threats from Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. & Syria. “Our next president needs to understand that. Vivek said we must abandon Israel after 2028. Those are his words,” Haley wrote on the X platform formerly known as Twitter.

Ramaswamy has previously told actor and activist Russell Brand that he wants to “get Israel to the place where it is negotiated back into the infrastructure of the rest of the Middle East” and that there is “no North Star to commit to any country other than the UAE”. United States of America.”

His website now reads: “By the end of Vivek’s first term, the relationship between the United States and Israel will be deeper and stronger than ever because it will not be a client relationship, but a true friendship,” and that he will not. Cutting off aid to Israel “until Israel tells the US it no longer needs aid” because “that’s what true friends do”.

The Mayor of Miami takes responsibility

Suarez announced on Tuesday that he was suspending his campaign, ending a show that never fully took off and did not garner enough poll support to qualify for the first debate last week.

“While I have decided to suspend my campaign for president, my commitment to making this nation better for every American remains,” Suarez wrote on X.

He added, “I look forward to staying connected with the other Republican presidential candidates and doing everything I can to make sure our party puts forward a strong candidate who can inspire and unite the country, and renew Americans’ faith in our institutions and in each other.” Wins.”

Suarez had previously said that he qualified for the first debate last week, and that anyone who did not qualify should withdraw from the race. However, the Republican National Committee ended up saying that Suarez had not reached the polling threshold, keeping him off the debate stage.

Suarez, whose job as mayor of Miami is largely symbolic and powerless, polls have consistently had low single digits, if he scores at all.

X is the dot (for political ads)

Company X announced on Tuesday that it will allow political ads back on the platform for the first time since 2019.

X said it had allowed ads to return to support “people’s right to accurate and safe political speech”, but insisted barriers would remain on what could be posted on the platform.

“This will include prohibiting the promotion of false or misleading content, including false or misleading information intended to undermine public confidence in elections, while striving to preserve free and open political discourse,” the company said. in a blog post.

X said it will also strengthen its safety and election teams to limit the reach of manipulated media and fake accounts. It did not provide details on what the expansion of the teams would look like.

X boss Elon Musk has faced backlash for removing some moderation measures, which critics said allowed more hate speech on the platform, and allowed previously banned figures like former President Donald Trump to return to the platform.

old question

Democrats, publicly and privately, have expressed concern that voters think President Joe Biden is too old to win a second term, and a new poll confirms they have reason to worry.

Seventy-seven percent of Democrats under the age of 45 and 62 percent of Democrats over the age of 45 say they think Biden is too old to serve a second term, according to a new survey. Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. In a sign of waning enthusiasm for younger voters, only 34% of Democrats under the age of 45 want Biden to run at all.

And when all the adults surveyed were asked what the first word they think of when they think of Biden, 26% mentioned his age, and another 15% mentioned words associated with slowness and confusion.

Biden, 80, is only three years older than Trump, his likely challenger in the general election, but voters don’t see Trump’s age as a big deal.

But the poll is not all roses for Trump.

When asked what is the first word that voters think of when they think of Trump, 23% mentioned words associated with corruption, crime, lying or untrustworthiness.