Vivek Ramaswamy, who recently dropped out of the presidential race, found himself in an uncomfortable position after an American author, whom he invited on a podcast, made a racial remark directed at him. After being introduced by Ramaswamy, Ann Coulter heaped praise on the Republican before saying that she wouldn't have voted for him as he is an Indian.
“I too am a fan of yours, so I’m going to make a point of disagreeing with you so it will be fun. You are so bright and articulate, and I guess I can call you articulate since you’re not an American Black. Can’t say that about them, that’s derogatory,” she said.
"I agreed with many, many things you said during– in fact, probably more than most other candidates when you were running for president, but I still would not have voted for you because you’re an Indian. We’ll get back to that,” she added.
She then went on to explain that the “core national identity” in America is of the WASP – White Anglo-Saxon Protestants.
She said it does not mean that a “Sri Lankan or a Japanese or an Indian” can’t be taken in but the “core around which the nation’s values are formed is the WASP”.
Later, Ramaswamy responded to her by saying that citizenship is about “loyalty” to one nation, which is why dual citizenship is an incoherent concept. “But in America it’s not about ethnicity either,” he said.