Who is Rena Haley? Her mum Nikki Haley leapt to her defence at the third Republican presidential primary debate over a TikTok diss – she’s also a former cheerleader, nursing grad and newly married

Nov 17 , 2023

Rena Haley Jackson is the daughter of Republican US presidential candidate Nikki Haley. Photo: @renahaleyjackson/Instagram

Nikki Haley is a Republican presidential candidate alongside Donald Trump and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy – Haley called the latter ‘scum’ for bringing her Gen Z daughter up during the recent debate

Rena Haley supports her dad William Michael Haley, a major in the US National Guard; married her university sweetheart in a lavish wedding in April; and once did community service in Costa Rica

In February, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley announced her White House bid, saying that it is “time for a new generation of leadership” in Washington DC.

Her campaign has pushed for stronger border measures, lower taxes and anti-abortion policies. She is a Republican Party candidate along with former US president Donald Trump, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

But it was Nikki’s daughter Rena who grabbed headlines after her mum rushed to her defence during the third 2024 Republican Party presidential primary debate on November 9.

So who is Rena Haley and what exactly happened during the debate? Here’s what you need to know.

Nikki and Rena Haley’s presidential debate shock

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley (second from right), her husband Michael and children Rena and Nalin. Photo: @renahaleyjackson/Instagram

It has been called one of the most emotionally charged moments of the Republican debate. Nikki, 51, was attacked by Ramaswamy, 38, because of her pledge to ban TikTok in the US over national security concerns. Ramaswamy commented on how Nikki’s own daughter Rena uses the platform.

“She made fun of me for joining TikTok while her own daughter was actually using the app for a long time,” Ramaswamy said. “So you might want to take care of your family first before preaching to anyone else.”

Nikki immediately snapped back, “leave my daughter out of your voice,” later calling him “scum” for referring to her daughter during the debate.

The incident has led to widespread criticism not only because of divided opinions about bringing personal matters into the debate, but also because of the way Nikki handled the comments.