‘Certainly an Indian’: MAGA ally questions Vivek Ramaswamy’s US citizenship over parents’ naturalisation

Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy once again became the target of online attacks, after a MAGA commentator questioned his American citizenship and identity following a post by the Indian-origin leader on national purpose and unity in USA.Andrew Branca, a conservative activist known for his opposition to India and the H1B visa programme, replied to Ramaswamy on X claiming that the Ohio governor candidate was not an American citizen because his parents were not naturalised at the time of his birth.Branca explained why he thinks Vivek is not an American citizen: “Vivek Ramaswamy is NOT an American citizen if his parent were not permanent resident aliens at the time of his birth on US soil.” He went on to add: “We know for certain that Vivek’s mother didn’t bother becoming a naturalized American citizen until after Vivek was an adult, and Vivek’s father has NEVER become a naturalized American citizen.”Branca further claimed that even if Ramaswamy qualified for citizenship, he was not culturally American. “Even if Vivek Ramaswamy somehow, barely, by the skin of his teeth, qualifies as a ‘technical’ American citizen he is CERTAINLY a CULTURAL Indian,” he said.

The comments came in response to a post by Ramaswamy promoting the ‘American Dream’. In his post, Ramaswamy argued that America needed a shared national project to move beyond identity politics and inspire future generations.“Fourth, provide America the shared national project we badly need,” Ramaswamy wrote, suggesting ambitious goals such as a modern-day equivalent of the Apollo mission to revive science education and innovation. He said such a project could help Americans “achieve together a national escape velocity to more promising terrain.”Ramaswamy is now running as the Republican candidate for Ohio governor. He has faced repeated backlash from sections of the MAGA base over his ethnicity. Some hardline right-wingers have questioned his belonging and loyalty to the United States and also called for his deportation.In December, Ramaswamy stirred another row after a speech praising the American Dream. “There’s no Canadian Dream. There’s no British Dream. There’s no Chinese Dream. It’s called the American Dream for a reason,” he said.Despite facing racist and xenophobic attacks, Ramaswamy continues to enjoy strong backing within the Republican Party and has received support from US President Donald Trump. He is set to face Democratic candidate Amy Acton in the 2026 Ohio governor’s race.Regarding his parents and background: Vivek Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1985 to Indian immigrant parents. His father, V. Ganapathy Ramaswamy, is an engineer and patent attorney who moved to the United States from Kerala in southern India, and his mother, Geetha Ramaswamy, worked as a geriatric psychiatrist. Both are Hindu Indian immigrants originally from the Palakkad district of Kerala. His parents settled in the US before his birth, and he was raised in Ohio as a second-generation Indian-American.