Roving Periscope: Trump arrested, released; now 2 IndAms fight to replace him!
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: While Donald Trump became the first US President to surrender, got arrested, and released, as officials even took his mugshot for police records on Thursday, two Indian-Americans vied to replace him as the Republican candidate in the next year’s presidential election.
In a first, these candidates—former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, once a close Trump aide, and wealthy biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, made history when they shared the stage and sparred during the first Republican Party primary presidential debate about foreign policy issues, organized by FOX News Channel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
And Ramaswamy appeared emerging fast on the US political horizon.
It was such a heated exchange that at one point, both shouted at each other for more than 30 seconds, waving their fingers as they yelled, the media reported.
Haley, also a former South Carolina Governor, slammed Ramaswamy for his alleged lack of competence in foreign affairs and his stance towards Russia.
Even before the debate, their conversations on social media exposed their differences in foreign policy.
Haley denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “murderer” and accused Ramaswamy of “siding with America’s enemies” and “abandoning its allies” during the primary debate. Ramaswamy had asserted that the US support of Ukraine in its battle with Russia was adequate.
“He wants to hand Ukraine to Russia, he wants to let China eat Taiwan, he wants to go and stop funding Israel,” she said about Ramaswamy. “You don’t do that to friends.”
Ramaswamy frequently interrupted Haley, retorting “false, false,” and accused her of “pushing this lie” against him.
In fact, eight of Donald Trump’s primary competitors are fighting for second-place status in the 2024 Republican presidential primary debate after the former President, still the front-runner, decided not to participate in the primaries.
Some Indian-Americans ran for President in each of the last two elections. Bobby Jindal was the first (2016), followed by Kamala Harris (2022), who is now the Vice President. But this is the first time in American history that two Indian-Americans appeared on the same primary debate platform.
“You are choosing a murderer over a pro-American country … You would make America less safe. You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows,” Haley shouted at Ramaswamy, who stood his ground saying he would oppose providing extra aid to war-torn Ukraine.
“I wouldn’t, and this is very harmful. We should allocate those same military resources to prevent the invasion of our own southern border here in the United States. Ukraine is not a priority for the United States of America,” Ramaswamy said, as he disagreed on foreign policy matters with Haley and other candidates.
“I reject the consensus that ‘winning’ in Ukraine is a vital US interest. Nearly the entire GOP (Republican) field rails against (Joe) Biden, but cut through the grandstanding and it turns out they’re solidly with him on the most important foreign policy issue of our time. America First 2.0,” he said.
“The US military has one purpose above all, it’s to defend America’s home turf. Yet, the defense establishment recoils at this idea,” he added.
Ramaswamy charged Haley with supporting Ukraine under pressure from major defense contractors. “I wish you success in your future endeavors serving on the boards of Lockheed (Martin) and Raytheon,” he remarked.
After the debate, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ramaswamy is no longer an unknown figure.
“The other candidates… don’t seem to like him very much. The 38-year-old outsider who started the race polling at 0 percent has moved up in polls for his unconventional ideas. Several of the candidates took a shot at him,” the paper wrote.
“Attacks included everything from his lack of political experience, the way he answered questions, and his foreign policy views. Ramaswamy responded by slinging insults right back. It remains to be seen if his combative, unconventional style was effective, but he certainly took advantage of the spotlight. He was the most-searched candidate at the end of the debate,” the WSJ said.
Haley cautioned Ramaswamy that his actions could reduce America’s security during the Republican Party’s initial presidential primary debate.
The next debate is scheduled for September 22.
Meanwhile, Ramaswamy’s popularity rating and online fundraising surged on Thursday, a day after the maiden Republican presidential debate.
According to his campaigners, the presidential aspirant raised more than USD 450,000, with an average donation of USD 38, in the first hour after the debate. Apart from Haley, he is fighting other key Republican aspirants like former New Jersey Governor Chris Christies and former Vice President Mike Pence.
The first poll after the debate said that 28 percent of the 504 respondents found Ramaswamy performed the best, followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (27 percent, Pence (13 percent), and Haley (7 percent).
According to Fox News, Ramaswamy was the most Google-searched GOP candidate for the first Republican presidential debate, followed by Haley.
