WASHINGTON: Indian-American Republican presidential aspirant Vivek Ramaswamy has infuriated his Republican primary rivals when he said that he wouldn’t back Ukraine in its war against Russia, aligning himself with former president Donald Trump who wants to abandon critical support of Kyiv.
“We have to level with the American people on this issue,” the 38-year-old multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur said. “Just because (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is an evil dictator does not mean that Ukraine is good. This is a country that has banned 11 opposition parties, that has actually…,” Ramaswamy said during the second Republican presidential primary at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California, on Wednesday.
Ramaswamy’s isolationist tilt drew major blowback from former vice president Mike Pence, former governor of New Jersey Chris Christie and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley. Haley, who is also of Indian origin, was the first to jump in, saying, “A win for Russia is a win for China.”
Haley slammed him also for joining TikTok, saying, “Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber.”
At the same time, continuing his proposals of harsh policy changes, Ramaswamy also said that he would favour ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants in the US. He said the parents of such kids broke the law to land in the US.
When asked “what legal premise” he would use to expel undocumented immigrants and their American-born children from the country, Ramaswamy, the son of Indian immigrants, resurrected a 2015 proposal of ending birthright citizenship from then-candidate Donald Trump. Ramaswamy, 38, also supported his opponents onstage and acknowledged other measures such as militarisation of the southern border, defunding “sanctuary cities,” and an end to foreign aid to Mexico and Central America.