Vivek Thought Racism Was Over. Ohio Republicans Had Other Plans

After years of dismissing racism and identity politics, the Ohio gubernatorial candidate is getting a firsthand lesson from members of his own party

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Vivek Ramaswamy is a ridiculous figure. He built a political career telling Americans that racism was largely exaggerated. He mocked diversity programs, attacked “wokeness” and frequently dismissed discussions about systemic racism as left-wing hysteria. And yet it keeps smacking him in the face in the GOP. Of course, this is natural because the GOP is a white nationalist party, and Ramaswamy isn’t white.

For some Republicans, Ramaswamy will never be American enough.

The GOP’s ‘True American’ Test

That reality has become increasingly visible during his campaign for governor of Ohio. According to a recent Washington Post report, some Republicans have openly attacked Ramaswamy because of his Indian heritage, despite the fact that he was born in Cincinnati and has spent his entire life in the United States.

One of his primary opponents, Casey Putsch, reportedly referred to Ramaswamy as an “Indian boy” who “cosplays an American.” The Post also reported that Putsch used rhetoric associated with white nationalist movements and portrayed himself as a “true American” alternative to Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy defeated him in the primary.

Ramaswamy was born in Ohio. He attended Harvard and Yale. He built a successful business. He ran for president. He embraces conservative politics. He supports Donald Trump. He has done almost everything possible to prove his Republican credentials.

Yet for some people on the far right, none of that matters.

His skin color matters more. He can never be truly one of them because he’s not white. Everyone on the left gets it — apart from Ramaswamy.

The irony is difficult to ignore.

For years, Ramaswamy argued that America had moved beyond racism. During his presidential campaign, he frequently criticized what he saw as identity politics. He even dismissed concerns about white supremacy and racial discrimination that many Americans experience every day.

But racism has a funny way of becoming visible when it is aimed directly at you.

The Racism He Tried To Dismiss

The Washington Post noted that Ramaswamy has recently begun speaking out against elements of the far right that traffic in racial resentment and ethnic nationalism. He has warned Republicans not to embrace the same kind of identity politics they often criticize on the left. But those are your people!

The problem is that this isn’t a new phenomenon. This is a recurring problem for Ramaswamy. When he ran for president, some Republican voters said they wouldn’t vote for him because they thought he was a Muslim. He’s Hindu. And racist commentator Ann Coulter told him to his face that she would not vote for him because he is “an Indian.” And yet he still doesn’t get it.

America has always had people who define “real Americans” by race, religion or ancestry. Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, and millions were convinced he was secretly foreign. Catholic politicians were once viewed with suspicion. Jewish candidates faced similar attacks. Now, an American-born son of Indian immigrants is learning the same lesson.

Ramaswamy’s campaign isn’t disastrous because he lost support from Democrats. It is struggling because parts of his own coalition are revealing what was always lurking beneath the surface.

Vivek Ramaswamy spent years insisting that racism wasn’t a major force in American politics. He argued against so-called wokeism. But his struggles in the GOP prove the exact opposite of that point.

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