'Pathetic': Nikki Haley's son accuses Vivek Ramaswamy of planting supporters to fake applause during campaign events

Republican candidate for Ohio governor and former presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy stirred up a big debate this week after speaking at a Turning Point USA (Tpusa) event. While Ramaswamy sought to define a "colourblind" American identity, the speech drew a personal rebuke from Nalin Haley, son of Republican leader Nikki Haley, who called the performance "pathetic."

During his address, Ramaswamy leaned heavily into the "ideals of 1776," arguing that American identity is a creedal choice rather than an ethnic inheritance. Drawing inspiration from Ronald Reagan, he told the crowd:

"You can travel to Italy, but you’ll never be an Italian. You can live in Germany but you’ll never be a German... Yet you can come from any one of those countries to the United States of America, and you can still be an American—so long as you work hard, play by the rules, and obtain your citizenship."

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Ramaswamy further doubled down against the "online right" and the concept of "heritage Americans," calling the idea of defining Americanness by lineage "about as loony as anything the woke left has actually put up."

The rhetoric did not sit well with Nalin Haley. In a scathing post on X (formerly Twitter), the younger Haley accused Ramaswamy of manufacturing his own enthusiasm during his previous White House run.

"On the presidential campaign when all the candidates would speak at the same events, this guy would send his staff into the crowd and have them clap for him cuz no one else would," Haley posted. "The more people heard him, the less they liked him. Pathetic," he added.

Why the speech led to controversy

Ramaswamy’s remarks have polarised the conservative movement by challenging the rising "Nationalist" wing of the Republican Party.

He argued that being American is about shared values, not ancestry or “blood and soil,” pushing back against those who believe people with deep colonial roots have a stronger claim to being truly American.

Critics, including commentator Benny Johnson, argued Ramaswamy was "dead wrong," suggesting his view treats America as an "economic taxation zone" rather than a distinct, sacred culture. Conversely, Ramaswamy maintains that rejecting lineage-based identity is essential to defeating "woke" identity politics.

Despite the backlash, Ramaswamy remains a central figure in the 2026 political landscape, continuing to push his "Nation of Victims" critique against both the left and the identitarian right.