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(NewsNation) — During NewsNation’s GOP debate businessman Vivek Ramaswamy rejected identity politics based on gender, religion or race and attacked former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley as inauthentic and corrupt.
In September, when discussing his Hindu faith, Ramaswamy appeared to take a shot at Haley, a fellow Indian American who converted to Christianity as an adult.
“An easy thing for me to do, being a politician to follow this track is shorten my name, profess to be a Christian and then run,” Ramaswamy said at a September town hall in Hollis, New Hampshire. “Let’s be honest — it happens. Make Vivek ‘Vikki’ or whatever.”
Ramaswamy’s campaign has previously referred to Haley by her given first name, Nimarata, despite the fact that she has gone by Nikki, her middle name, her entire life.
Ramaswamy said doesn't question Haley's faith, but he questions her authenticity.
"I think that's deeper here. We were just talking about the trans issue. This is a symptom of a deeper cancer in American life. Identity politics, this new religion that says your race, your gender and your sexuality are your identity. It is anti-American. And it is dividing this country to a breaking point."
Ramaswamy accused Haley of having “a corruption problem” and held up a pad of paper with “NIKKI = CORRUPT” written on it. The sign prompting a mix of boos and cheers from the audience of the Tuscaloosa event.
Haley declined to address his comments, saying, “It’s not worth my time to respond to him.”