Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has accused Vice President Kamala Harris of leaning into 'identity politics' and claimed that she only considered herself Indian-American when "convenient."
Ramaswamy, who supports for president and the Republican Party's nominee Donald Trump now, said that Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, leaned on her Indian American heritage while running for office in California, where there is a significant Asian American population, but has since shifted her focus away from that identity on the national stage.
The 38-year-old Indian-American biotech entrepreneur drew a comparison between Harris' heritage and his own to share his views on the subject. "On a very personal level, my parents were immigrants to this country, legal immigrants from southern India- the very same part of India that (Harris') mother also immigrated from," he told Fox News.
"I think it's a hard fact... it's a fact whether you like it or not, that many Indian-Americans in the US are indeed somewhat offended by the way Kamala has suddenly cast aside the Indian-American side of identity," Ramaswamy said.
She leaned into it when she ran for Office in California- big Asian-American and Indian-American population, he said. "So she wore that when it was convenient. She's wearing a different identity now when it is politically convenient on a national stage," he alleged.
He said he does not think Americans should be relying on these ethnic identities at all. "We're actually American. And the problem is, when you're Kamala Harris and you actually lean into your identity politics, then you open the door to that type of criticism," he said.
"But if you ask me, that shouldn't be how this election is decided one way or another. It should be decided on our own identity as Americans and what our vision is for the future of our country. And the number one thing missing in Kamala Harris' candidacy is that she lacks that vision for the country," he added.
Harris, 59, is Indian American and African American. Her mother emigrated from India, and her father emigrated from Jamaica.
Former President Trump, Harris' Republican rival, also mocked Vice President Harris's heritage during a combative live interview Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention, saying "she happened to turn Black" in recent years.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
