US elections: Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who announced the end of his campaign for presidential run in January this year, was told by a conservative media pundit and author that she wouldnt have voted for him because he is an Indian.

Ann Coulter was speaking to Ramaswamy on his podcast, The TRUTH Podcast when she made the statement that has been widely panned. Ramaswamy reacted to her comment too but lauded her for speaking her mind.

After he introduced her in the podcast, Coulter said, Thanks for having me, that was a fantastic opening monologue. I too am a fan of yours, so Im 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 youre not an American Black. Cant say that about them, thats derogatoryI 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 youre an Indian. Well get back to that.

She went on to explain as Ramaswamy continued listening to her with a neutral expression. Coulter said 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 cant be taken in but the core around which the nations values are formed is the WASP.

Coulter said that America has never had a president who didnt have at least partial English ancestry. Weve only had one Catholic president. There was only one Catholic signatory to the Declaration of Independence. They were all not only protestants, but pretty much Presbyterian, she said.

Ramaswamy argued that an immigrant or children of immigrants have greater loyalty to America than a seventh-generation American who hates the country.

Ann Coulter told me flat-out to my face that she couldnt vote for me because youre an Indian, even though she agreed with me more than most other candidates. I disagree with her but respect she had the guts to speak her mind. It was a riveting hour. The TRUTH podcast is back, said Ramaswamy, sharing a clip of the conversation.

In another response, Ramaswamy said that citizenship is about loyalty to one nation, which is why dual citizenship is an incoherent concept. But in America its not about ethnicity either, he said.

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'Because you are Indian': Conservative tells Vivek Ramaswamy why she wouldn't have voted for him; he reacts - Business Today