Haley spars with Republican rivals at 3rd primary debate as Trump still looms

The candidates took on TikTok, arguing that the enormously popular if controversial social media app should be banned in the U.S.

Trump "talked tough about TikTok, I heard him do it many times, but when it came down to it, he did not ban them when he could have and should have," Christie said. "In my first week as president, we would ban TikTok."

"I think that China's the top threat we face. They've been very effective at infiltrating different parts of our society," Desantis, the father of three young kids, said. "These kids get these devices, and they have a mind of their own."

Ramaswamy, who has waffled on TikTok usage, targeted Haley's daughter's use of the app, drawing some boos, which he played down as coming from Haley supporters.

"We have to ban any U.S. company actually transferring U.S. data to the Chinese," Ramaswamy added. "Even U.S. companies in Silicon Valley are doing it."

"What we should do is ban TikTok, period," Scott said.

-ABC News' Tal Axelrod

As 538’s Cooper Burton wrote a few months ago, TikTok bans are popular among roughly half of Americans. But one group that is strongly opposed is young Americans, which Republicans have historically struggled with.
-Analysis by Nathaniel Rakich of 538

The two candidates who have perhaps the most acrimonious relationship on stage, Haley and Ramaswamy, have spent a notable amount of the debate sparring with each other.

After Ramaswamy mentioned that Haley's daughter has used TikTok, despite Republican criticism of the Chinese-owned app -- drawing boos from attendees -- Haley admonished him.

"Leave my daughter out of your voice," she said, adding with an eye roll: "You're just scum."

-ABC News' Adam Carlson

DeSantis said the U.S. Navy isn't large enough and he'd expand it significantly to meet China's threats. Right now, the U.S. Navy has 291 ships but DeSantis says his plan would be 385 ships by the end of two terms.

The Florida governor compared the threat of China today to the threat of the Soviet Union post-World War II, warning a Chinese superpower would want to "export authoritarianism" around the world.

"I think the future of freedom is going to be determined in the Indo-Pacific," he said. "We have a strategy not just with military but decoupling from the economy and fighting them here at home."

He then went after Haley for recruiting Chinese companies to invest in South Carolina when she served as governor, while he's worked to ban Chinese citizens from buying land in Florida.

-ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler