Conservative commentator Ann Coulter praised former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, but then said she would not vote for him because of his ethnicity.
The hedge fund multimillionaire sat down with the conservative pundit during an episode of his show, The Truth Podcast, to discuss nationalism.
Ramaswamy warmly welcomed Coulter to the show, where she returned full of praise, calling the Republican rising star “bright and articulate.”
Coulter said she agrees with Ramaswamy on many issues, but shocked listeners with her reason for admitting she won’t vote for him.
“I agreed with a lot of things you said, probably more than most other candidates when you were running for president, but I still wouldn’t have voted for you because you’re Indian,” Coulter said.
Ann Coulter (right) told former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and then said she wouldn’t vote for him because of his ethnicity and said presidents should be WASPs
Ramaswamy is the 38-year-old son of Indian immigrants, born in Cincinnati. Pictured with his wife Apoorva Tewari Ramaswamy, their two sons
Ramaswamy is a 38-year-old father of two who campaigned to solve America’s national identity crisis by ending the “secular religion” of “woke-ism.”
He has also been floated as a potential vice president for Donald Trump after he dropped out of the Republican presidential primaries in January.
Ramaswamy and Coulter agreed that they are both against the idea of dual citizenship, with the former candidate saying that the “essence of citizenship is to which nation you had your undivided loyalty.”
“You and I agree on so much of that, but where I – I wouldn’t say “lose you” – but I may not be able to fully understand you is what ethnicity on that axis of citizenship has to do with the issue,” said Ramaswamy.
Coulter explained that she will only vote for presidential candidates who are WASPs – white Anglo-Saxon Protestants.
“There is a core national identity which is the identity of the WASP, and that doesn’t mean we can’t bring anyone else into it – a Sri Lankan, a Japanese or an Indian – but the core around which the values of the nation are formed is the WASP ,’ she said.
“We’ve never had a president who didn’t have at least partial English ancestry, never.”
The constitutional requirements to run for president in the United States are that you must be a natural-born citizen, be at least 35 years old, and have lived in the country for 14 years.
The son of Indian immigrants, Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard in 2007 with a degree in biology. He subsequently received a JD from Yale Law School in 2013.
Listeners praised Ramaswamy for the way he handled the conversation and condemned Coulter for her comments, calling them “racists.”
“This interview, the way Vivek handled himself and continued the interview, shows the magnanimous man he is,” Kim Carrico-Stephens said on X.
“Ann Coulter, you are a disgusting racist! Vivek is America First, will not be bullied, strong class action from a person.’
“Vivek showed extreme class when Coulter flatly stated that she would not vote for him because of his race,” said Eric Pistey.
“He kept the conversation going and never fell into an offended or victim mentality. Well done to him.’
Others noted that Coulter’s views are outdated and said it damages her reputation.
“She’s a typical boomer mentality lady, you just listen to them, nod and move on with your life,” Mayra Smith said.
“Why does she keep flying into the reputation bug zapper,” said Eric Stoner.