Nikki Haley hits back at fellow Indian-American presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for using her birth name, which she does not use, as a counterattack to criticism of his foreign policy platform.
The former UN ambassador said she will not engage in “childish name calling” from her Republican rival, insisting he “should know better” than to use her Indian name as a point of attack.
Haley’s birth name is Nimarata Randhawa, but her legal middle name is Nikki which is what she uses. Her last name changed when she married her husband of 27 years, Michael Haley.
On a page on Ramaswamy’s campaign website called TRUTH. Through Myth, the campaign tries to debunk claims about the candidate. A section titled Vivek does not support Israel with a clown emoji focuses on Haley.
‘WRONG. Keep lying, Nimarata Randhawa,” the website reads, using Haley’s birth name.
Vivdek Ramaswamy (left) used fellow Indian-American Republican candidate Nikki Haley’s birth name Nikki Haley when he backtracked on her attacks on his Israel policy
Ramaswsamy’s website contains a section debunking claims about him. One was about Haley’s claims about his policies towards Israel, to which he fired back by using her first name Nimarata, which she does not address, and her maiden name Randhawa.
The desperation is visible. By the end of Vivek’s first term, the relationship between the US and Israel will be deeper and stronger than ever because it will not be a client relationship, but a true friendship.”
Originally, her name was misspelled as ‘Namrata’, but it was later changed to reflect the correct spelling.
“I’m not going to get into the childish name calling or whatever, where he makes fun of my name,” Haley told Fox News Digital Monday. ‘I mean, he should know better. But at this point I’ve given up on him knowing better than anything.’
“I think we saw the childish, demeaning side of him on stage,” she added, referring to Ramaswamy’s frequent back-and-forth during the first Republican debate last week. “I think he does, whether it’s on the website or otherwise, but I don’t feel like it.”
During the debate, Haley attacked Ramaswamy for wanting to support foreign opponents and abandon allies, specifically referring to his desire to withdraw aid from Ukraine and Israel.
She slammed Ramaswamy for having no experience in handling foreign policy, as the candidates shared the feeling that this is one of current President Joe Biden’s greatest failures to date.
“You have no foreign policy and it shows!” Haley yelled at Ramaswamy when he signaled that he would debunk the war effort in Ukraine. “Don’t do that to your friends. You choose a murderer over a pro-American country.”
Appearing on Russell Brand’s Rumble channel, Ramaswamy said as president he would end funding to Israel in 2028, the year a US $38 billion package expires.
“By 2028, that extra aid will no longer be necessary to still have the kind of stability we would actually have in the Middle East if Israel were more integrated with its partners,” he said.
Haley’s legal middle name is Nikki and she married Michael Haley in 1996. Her name is Nikki Haley. The two Indian-American candidates got into some heated arguments Wednesday during the first Republican debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
But when it came to criticism that he was not supporting US ally Israel, Ramaswamy’s campaign said that is simply not true after focusing on Haley’s attacks.
“Good friends also learn from each other, and Vivek has said we can learn a lot from Israel,” the campaign clarified on its website. “He has traveled there numerous times with one of his main business partners – one of the founders of Roivant – who is based there.”
“Vivek wants the US to learn from Israel’s border policies, crime enforcement policies, national identity and missile defense capabilities — and will lead the US accordingly,” the excerpt on the website adds.
Ramaswamy also said he would not end aid to Israel until the ally said the country no longer needed U.S. aid.
“That’s what real friends do: they’re honest with each other. That is what we expect from our friends in Israel. And when Israel reaches that point, we should all rightly celebrate it as a mark of achievement and pride for both the US and Israel.”