Aryan Pathak, an Indian-origin student, asked the Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate some tough questions on the ‘hypocrisy’ of the GOP when Ramaswamy addressed a recent TPUSA event at Ohio State University. Introducing himself as an OSU student, Pathak asked Ramaswamy why a TPUSA reporter had recently mocked a Hindu temple in Texas, but Ramaswamy, a Hindu GOP leader, was sitting at his event. He also told Ramaswamy that Charlie Kirk was against Ramaswamy on the H-1B visa program.“How can I call myself a true Republican when there are a growing number of people who, because of the color of my skin, because of what I believe in, and because of my practice of religious faith, see me as someone who is not part of their tradition?” Pathak asked, pointing out that on one hand, the number of Asian-Americans in the GOP is increasing and on the other, hatred against them is increasing. He asked if this was the GOP’s strategy for the post-Trump era.Ramaswami said he criticized both the woke left and the radical right. Ramaswami said, “I am nobody’s pawn, I am my own man. I report to nobody but myself and at the end of the day to God, who I believe puts each of us here for a purpose and secondly I will never defend the inevitable.”Ramaswami said, “When I was the CEO of all the companies that were buying it, I criticized the leftist ideology. I went the other way. I will not be sorry and I will not mince words in criticizing the same type of semi-socialist, semi-discriminatory, self-hating ideology emerging on the right. Wherever I see it, I will say it in 360 degrees.” He said he believes in true conservative policies, which means believing in success.On Charlie Kirk’s opposition to H-1B, a visa program that Ramaswamy supports but now mostly avoids, Ramaswamy said hypocrisy is everywhere in life. “It’s not a good thing that you can pick out any one person’s quote and match it to their party. That’s the beauty of the conservative movement and one of the reasons I worked hard to get Donald Trump elected in 2024 is that I believe there’s a big tent with room for healthy disagreement like we’re doing tonight.“Ramaswamy said, “Charlie and I became very close. We would have debates where we agreed on 95% of things. We disagreed on 5% but demonstrated a culture of mutual respect that was at least committed to the principles of the American founding.”
