Presumably in response to the Democrats’ selection of Kamala Harris as VP candidate, Nikki Haley invoked her Indian heritage during her speech at the Republican National Convention on Monday. Claiming that America is not racist, she termed her Indian identity as an example.
"This is personal for me. I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. They came to America and settled in a small southern town. My father wore a turban. My mother wore a sari. I was a brown girl in a black and white world", she said.
If you missed my speech tonight, here’s the video. ❤️🇺🇸 https://t.co/4w89mVGAP1
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) August 25, 2020
Contradicting her own claims, she said that her family faced discrimination and hardship when they came to the US but they never gave in to grievance and hate. “My dad taught 30 years at a historically black college. And the people of South Carolina chose me as their first minority and first female governor,” said the sole Indian-American speaker at the Republican National Convention.
Haley, who accused Democrats of making it fashionable to shame America for racism during the speech, is now being mocked on Twitter over her self-contradictory statement, where she says America is not racist before admitting to having been discriminated against.
when Nikki Haley said “America is not a racist country” pic.twitter.com/ZLcDfBKWas
— emily (@emily_bernie) August 25, 2020
Nikki Haley doesn't want to admit what her family endured in South Carolina was racism, oh no, it was "discrimination and hardship". Is it because she's a "brown girl" not a "black girl?"#RepublicanNationalConvention
— lindsey arlos (@LindseyArlos) August 25, 2020
did nikki haley really say “america isn’t racist” but then described the racism her indian family faced???? i’m -
— graciela mae (@notgracielamae) August 25, 2020
Nikki Haley using her father “who wore a turban” and her mother “who wore a sari” in her White supremacist apology is a special kind of brown kid sin that has no agreed upon recourse.
— Tamer El-Ghobashy (@TamerELG) August 25, 2020
Some netizens are even slamming Haley for expunging her Indian heritage as she stopped using her name Namrata Randhawa and is instead known as Nikki Haley.
she was also Nimrata Randhawa at that time...long before she changed her name and expunged her heritage.
— Art Martin (@gartmartin9) August 25, 2020
Meanwhile, speculations are rife that Haley may be a favourite for the Republican nomination in 2024 due to her "solid conservative record, foreign policy experience and strong appeal among US minorities due to her Indian Punjabi ancestry".
According to Indian media, the Indian diaspora in the US has traditionally favoured the Democratic Party in overwhelming numbers, but many claim a shift towards the Republican Party is underway in the upcoming presidential election, especially given Trump's rapport with Prime Minister Modi and tough approach to China.
