Republican presidential primary candidate Nikki Haley went hard against Vivek Ramaswamy and his inconsistent stances on foreign policy. Vivek’s support for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine was called into question during the RNC debate. On Monday, Vivek’s campaign attacked Haley by using her Indian name in a post on his campaign website, and it landed with an odd thud.

Not only was it an attack on Nikki using her Indian name – she goes by her middle name, which is Nikki – her name was misspelled in the post. It was an Indian-American on Indian-American attack. What was his campaign thinking? The campaign was responding to her questions on his support for Israel.

The new Vivek fact-check website feels like parody.

To rebut the point about VR ending aid for Israel, they write “Keep lying, Namrata Randhawa!” – not sure why using Nikki Haley’s maiden name (spelled wrong) is a rebuttal.

But makes clear her debate attacks got under his skin. pic.twitter.com/FEGcp6NccY

— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) August 28, 2023

The page on the campaign website is titled “TRUTH. Over Myth” and it serves to fact-check statements made about Vivek. The one on his support for Israel went straight to Nikki Haley. Her name has since been corrected with the correct spelling.

Vivek Doesn’t Support Israel: 🤡
WRONG. Keep lying, Nimarata Randhawa. The desperation is showing. By the end of Vivek’s first term, the US-Israel relationship will be deeper and stronger than ever because it won’t be a client relationship, it will be a true friendship. The centerpiece of Vivek’s Middle East policy in Year 1 will be to lead “Abraham Accords 2.0” which will fully integrate Israel into the Middle East economy – by adding Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Indonesia to the pact which was one of President Trump’s crowning foreign policy achievements.

Vivek will also partner with Israel to ensure that Iran never acquires nuclear capabilities. That’s a hard *never.*

Most importantly, he won’t cut aid to Israel until Israel tells the U.S. that it no longer needs the aid. That’s what true friends do: they’re honest with each other. We expect that of our friends in Israel, And when Israel gets to that point, we should all rightly celebrate it as a mark of achievement and pride for both the U.S. and Israel. That’s what Vivek actually said, so don’t believe the opponents’ lies that he wants to cut aid to Israel – which makes zero sense as a foreign policy priority any time in the foreseeable future. We will not leave Israel hanging out to dry – ever. (But that didn’t stop his opponents from pouncing to lie about his position).

Good friends also learn from each other, and Vivek has said we have much to learn from Israel. He’s traveled there countless times with one of his most important business partners – a founding investor at Roivant – who is based there. Vivek wants the U.S. to learn from Israel’s border policies, crime enforcement policies, national identity, and missile defense capabilities – and will
lead the U.S. accordingly.

Nikki responded to the attack by saying that Vivek, of all people, should know better than to do such a thing.

“I’m not going to get into the childish name-calling or whatever, making fun of my name that he’s doing,” Haley told Fox News Digital. “I mean, he of all people should know better than that. But I’ve given up on him knowing better than anything at this point.”

“I think we saw the childish, demeaning side of him onstage. I think he’s carrying that out whether it’s on the website or otherwise, but I have no use for it,” she continued.

A spokesperson for Vivek asked, “How is he making fun of her name? His name is Vivek Ramaswamy.” Really? Why would he use her maiden name and her first name when she goes by her middle name, Nikki, and uses her married name?

Nikki Haley was right to call out Vivek on the debate stage over foreign policy. His opinions flip flop from week to week. On his show Monday night, Sean Hannity questioned Vivek about Israel. Vivek insisted that his proposals have been misinterpreted. When Hannity asked about Vivek’s proposal that the U.S. end sending aid to Israel in 2028, the candidate pushed back.

“What I said is it would be a mark of success if we ever got to a point in our relationship with Israel if Israel never needed the United States’ aid,” Ramaswamy said. “By the end of my first term, our relationship with Israel will be stronger than it ever has been because I will treat it as a true friendship, not just a transactional relationship.”

Vivek said he would have to expand the Abraham Accords and negotiate peace between Middle Eastern nations and Israel. By the end of his first term, in 2028, he predicts success in the Middle East and Israel would no longer need U.S. financial aid. He said he would like to see Israel’s border and crime policies implemented in the United States. “It’s actually a much authentic commitment to Israel on the substance than just checking out the talking point of saying that we stand with Israel,” Ramaswamy said. “That’s meaningless. I prefer substance.” Vivek does not lack self-confidence and as a political newbie, he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. Foreign policy is Nikki Haley’s wheelhouse. She has the experience and knows what she is talking about.

Nikki Haley hit a nerve when she was squabbling with Vivek on the debate stage and she told him that his lack of foreign policy experience was showing. Vivek should be questioned on his stances, as all of he candidates should be. He tends to deliver a position and then reel it back when he gets questions about it. It looks like he is flip-flopping and that’s not good. Especially in today’s world, we need for the next president to be solid in his or her beliefs and not bend when questioned.

The personal attack on Nikki’s name was petty and lame. Who does he think he is, Donald Trump? Vivek can’t get away with it as easily as Trump. It’s not a good look.

Speaking of experience, did y’all see this? It’s a very young Vivek questioning Al Sharpton when he ran for president, back in the day.

I’ll give the 18-year-old version of myself a pat-on-the-back for eliciting the most sensible words ever to come from that man’s mouth. 20 years later, it’s funny how the tables have turned. 😄 pic.twitter.com/PfehQRXSvz

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) August 29, 2023

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