Nikki Haley Calls Vivek Ramaswamy 'Pathetic' After He Mocked Her Indian Birth Name in Campaign Update
Vivek Ramaswamy took a dig at Nikki Haley for not using her birth name, Nimarata.
Aug. 29 2023, Published 5:00 p.m. ET
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley fired back at opponent Vivek Ramaswamy, who she branded "pretty pathetic" after he mocked her given Indian name in a campaign update, RadarOnline.com has learned.
On his website, Ramaswamy, 38, took a dig at Haley, 51, while sharing more about his own background.
Nikki Haley was born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa and has gone by her middle name since childhood.
Haley and Ramaswamy previously went head-to-head during the first GOP debate last week. Haley criticized Ramaswamy's lack of foreign policy experience while he knocked ineffective leadership under career politicians.
As a political newcomer, Ramaswamy intended to inform voters about his personal ground in an updated section of his website. While explaining his position on U.S.-Israel relations, the 38-year-old entrepreneur directly called out Haley's given name, "Keep lying, Namrata [sic] Randhawa."
Ramaswamy intended to use his website update as a way to inform voters on his background, but took a cheap shot at Haley instead.
On Tuesday, Haley addressed Ramaswamy's comments during an interview with Fox News' America Reports. The former UN ambassador called the use of her Indian name "pretty pathetic."
"I mean, I’m not gonna get involved in these childish name games, it’s pretty pathetic," Haley told Fox News host Sandra Smith.
"First of all, I was born with Nikki on my birth certificate, I was raised as Nikki, I married a Haley, and so that is what my name is so he can say or misspell or do whatever he wants, but he can’t step away from the fact that, look, he’s the one that said he’s gonna abandon Israel."
Haley called Ramaswamy's actions 'pretty pathetic' and distracting from his foreign policy statements.
Haley has been criticized in the past for not going by her given name, Nimarata. While critics accused the former governor of South Carolina of attempting to separate her heritage from her public image, Haley claimed that she's gone by her Punjabi middle name, Nikki, since childhood. Haley's maiden name is Randhawa.
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Despite using her heritage a talking point throughout her political career, critics have accused Haley of attempting to cover up her background.
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Haley continued that "those were his words" as she argued the stunt was distracting from his past remarks on foreign policy. Ramaswamy previously branded U.S.-Israel a "client relationship."
"Now he’s wanting to walk it back and the reality is, you have to understand the importance of our allies and those relationships," she added. "We can never be so narcissistic to think that we don’t need friends. It’s not that Israel needs America, America needs Israel too."
The Republican noted that "you can tell a lot about the kind of leader someone will be based on how they run their campaign and he’s doing that all on his own."
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