Jake Paul reacts to GOP debate question about his influence on social media
Jenny Goldsberry
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Boxer Jake Paul issued a response after Vivek Ramaswamy was asked during Wednesday’s GOP debate about the social media star’s influence.
Anchor Stuart Varney asked Ramaswamy about Paul encouraging him to join TikTok. In a crowded GOP field, Ramaswamy, 37, is the sole candidate on the Chinese social media platform, which he joined some two weeks ago after a meeting with Paul, who got his start as a YouTuber.
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https://twitter.com/jakepaul/status/1707227206269718568
“I have a radical idea for the Republican Party. We need to win elections,” Ramaswamy said to answer the question. “Part of how we win elections is reaching the next generation of young Americans where they are.”
“Vivek is right. If he or any other President wants to beat Trump or Biden they need the youth,” Paul wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “It might be a shock to y’all that most 18-28 year olds don’t use this platform or let alone care about politics.”
Paul has over 4.6 million followers on X but more than 17.3 million on TikTok. Meanwhile, Ramaswamy has 1.3 million accounts following him on X and more than 50,000 on TikTok.
“Furthermore, after launching TikTok (in just 2 weeks) it now has become Vivek’s most viewed platform. I am the most followed American athlete on TikTok and command legions of American fans to engage and enact,” Paul wrote. “Someone can be an amazing candidate with amazing policies but if they can’t get into office it doesn’t matter.”
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The first-time presidential candidate has posted eight times on TikTok in those two weeks. He has yet to post since the Republican debate when his opponents attacked him over his involvement with the platform. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley referred to the Chinese site as “one of the most dangerous social media assets.”
Ramaswamy is the youngest candidate in the GOP field, facing off against former President Donald Trump, Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former governor of New Jersey Chris Christie, former Texas representative Will Hurd, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), political commentator Larry Elder, and businessman Perry Johnson in the race to win the GOP presidential nomination.