Republican Convention from the lens of Indian Americans-Haley attacks Harris, urges diversity, Ramaswamy goes back to basics

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Making clear that she was addressing the Republican National Convention because “President Trump asked me to speak in the name of unity,” Haley said her former opponent whom she once attacked as “unhinged” now “has my strong endorsement. Period.” She was a highlight of the 2nd day, July 16, 2024, at the Convention held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin July 15-18.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, once a contender, energized the hall with a speech about the basics of being an American. “What does it mean to be an American?” Ramaswamy asked metaphorically. “You get ahead in this country not by the color of your skin but by the content of your character,” he noted harking back to the words of Founding Fathers.

It also means “legal” immigration, he stressed, and criticized the media and the Biden administration for dividing the country.

“Our message to every legal immigrant is this: you’re like my parents. You deserve the opportunity to secure a better life for your children in America. But our message to illegal immigrants is also this: we will return you to your country of origin, not because you’re all bad people, but because you broke the law,” Ramaswamy said.

Haley quickly went into attack mode in her address.  “For more than a year I said, a vote for President Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris.” She claimed Harris had mishandled the border situation which was the one task given her. “For the sake of the country, we have to go with Donald Trump,” she said.

Perhaps the only speaker to openly acknowledge differences withing the Party, Harris said, “We should acknowledge that there are some who don’t agree a hundred percent with Donald Trump.” Even she did not, she added. “But we agree more than we disagree,” she qualified.

“We agree on keeping America strong; We agree on keeping America safe,” and “We agree we have a country to save.” She accused Democrats for being “far to the left.”

As a former Trump Ambassador to the United Nations, Haley also addressed specific foreign policy issues like Iran, Ukraine, and the Israel-Palestine conflict, saying there had been no wars during the four years of Trump, saying “A strong President does not start wars … he prevents wars,” Haley said.

Urging Republicans to expand and bring different communities within its fold, Haley said, “To my fellow Republicans – we must not only be a unified party, we must expand our party. We are stronger when we have people of different backgrounds,” adding, “Our fellow Americans are fearful. Too many minorities are devastated by crime. Our enemies win when they see us divided.”

“No president can do this alone,” Haley said, and the need of the hour was to “focus on what unites us.”

Ramaswamy made a direct appeal to Millenials and GenZ, saying “We can’t be cynical about our country.” He challenged GenZ youth on campuses to be open about being conservative and stressing family values. “Our nation’s best days are still ahead,” he added. “We’re the country where we can disagree like hell and still get together at the dinner table.”

Both Indian-American speakers were greeted with and interrupted by applause and cheers from the massive audience at the Convention.

“He took a bullet for the country”

Indian Americans made their mark on the first day of the Republican National Convention, July 15, held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The highlight on the first day, July 15, 2024, for Indian American Republicans was when Abraham George, first from this community to be elected chairman of the Texas Republican Party this May, stood up to announce the delegate vote. Texas is the 2^nd largest delegation in the country after California, and it cast all its 161 votes for Donald J. Trump.

That was the rallying cry of almost every single delegate from every state. Trump received the vote of 2,387 out of the 2,429 delegates, way beyond the 2,215 needed to win the party nomination. All the Indian Americans were behind former President Donald Trump.

Another source of excitement for Indian American Republicans was Trump’s selection of his running mate, US Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, who is married to Indian American Usha Chilukuri Vance. If Trump is elected, Chilukuri will be a presence on the national scene over the next four years. A little background – Vance and Chilukuri met at Yale University where she did law and was the executive development editor of the prestigious Yale Law Journal and managing editor of the Yale Journal of Law & Technology. She also received the Gates Cambridge Scholarship. She is an Associate at the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP which has offices in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. The couple has 3 children.

These visible Indian Americans were among several other distinguished Indian American Republicans at the Convention.

Delegates and attendees there told Desi Talk, the excitement was palpable, and the mood exuberant, with cries of “Fight Fight Fight” ringing through the air – words that former President Trump mouthed as secret service agents took him off the podium where he was shot at in an attempted assassination.

Trump made an appearance into the packed Convention hall the first night, but did not give a speech, entering to cheers of “Fight Fight Fight.” Trump raised his fist and mouthed “Thank you” repeatedly, and waved in all directions. His right ear was bandaged to cover the wound from the July 13 incident.

Desi Talk was able to reach a few of these busy attendees who gave of their time because they wished to register the presence of the community in high profile positions at the Convention and in their daily lives.

List of some prominent Indian Americans at the Republican Convention:

Speakers:

Nikki Haley, SC
2024 Presidential Candidate, Ambassador to the U.N. (2017-2018), Governor of South Carolina (2011-2017), & Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives (2005-2011)

Vivek Ramaswamy, OH
Former 2024 Presidential Candidate & Businessman

Delegates:

Harmeet Dhillon, CA
RNC National Committeewoman from California (2016-Present)

Abraham George, TX
Chairman, Texas Republican Party (Elected May 2024)

Niraj Antani, OH
Ohio State Senator and former State Representative (2014-Present)

Dr. Sampat Shivangi, MS
Physician & Philanthropist

Alternate Delegates:

Hima Kolanagireddy, MI
RNC National Committeewoman-elect from Michigan (Elected March 2024)

Adi Sathi, MI
Republican Strategist & Public Policy Professional

Other Indian Americans at the Convention

Kush Desai, Deputy Communications Director for the 2024 Republican National Convention

Sunny Reddy, MI- Businessman in the telecom sector. Candidate for the Wayne State University Board of Governors of Michigan.

Kash Patel, former White House National Security Council official in the Trump administration.

Usha Chilukuri Vance, wife of Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Vice Presidential nominee.

Jahan Wilcox, Republican political strategist and former Trump administration official. Businessman, founder of JRW Strategies LLC.

….

Some days before the Convention, Trump’s former UN Ambassador turned Trump critic in the campaign for President, Nikki Haley had urged her delegates to transfer their support to Trump. She was the most high-profile Indian American at the Convention.

Shivangi is one of the oldest Republican supporters in the Indian American community, and has served as a delegate from Mississippi several times over twenty years.

“Over the last 24 years, I have been coming as a delegate to Republican Conventions,” Shivangi told Desi Talk. Compared to the past five Conventions he has gone to as a Delegate, “People appear to be more united at this one. And things are going very smoothly despite the assassination attempt.”

As usual, “It feels great to be among like-minded people in that great hall … and to discuss things like the border issue, inflation, immigration, and the funding of Ukraine,” Shivangi said in a telephone interview.

Ohio Senator Niraj Antani is among the youngest Republicans from the community.  “As a leading Indian American Republican in the country, I am part of the delegates from Ohio here to nominate President Trump,” Antani told Desi Talk July 14, upon his arrival in Milwaukee, the day after an assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“Yesterday changed everything,” Antani said in reference to the assassination attempt.

“I’ve worked on Republican outreach to Asian American voters and I will continue to do that. There is a better opportunity under President Trump to bring Indian Americans into the GOP,” Antani contended. The reason being, “We have seen under Joe Biden, all these illegal immigrants coming into the country. Indian American voters have seen it. Like all other voters, they also want good schools, safe streets and opportunity,” Antani said.

President Joe Biden had lost support among minority communities who had hitherto been Democratic supporters, Antani said. “Among all minority categories, Joe Biden is doing significantly worse than in 2020,” and the reason for that drop, he said, was the “open border” policy, and inflation.

“He (Trump) took a bullet for the country,” enthused Sunny Reddy, from Michigan “That’s enough (for me). He is so patriotic. I don’t think Biden can serve the country any more. I respect his age, but…” said Reddy. “Excited is a small word to describe how I feel about being here. There is so much energy, people who are more committed to President Trump after the assassination attempt. I am meeting so many people.” As a candidate for the Wayne State University Board of Governors, Reddy, originally from Hyderabad, will have to secure state-wide support to win his race.

Michigan’s Alternate Delegate Hima Kolanagireddy, in a statement sent to Desi Talk, said she was honored to represent Michigan in that position, adding, “As just the second Indian American elected to serve on the RNC National Committee during the MIGOP State Convention in March 2024, I am looking forward to meeting other national leaders in the Republican Party and working with them to Make America Great Again! I am a proud Indian-born legal immigrant, and my journey through U.S. politics and business has given me the opportunity and privilege of living the American Dream.”

Jahan Wilcox, a Republican political strategist who has worked on Capitol Hill, and served as spokesman at the Environmental Protection Agency during the Trump administration, also spoke to News India Times. Currently, he heads JRW Strategies LLC. He told News India Times he had worked for Nikki Haley as well. “It is exciting to be at the Convention. Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy represent a new generation of leaders in the Republican Party. “Indian Americans are conservatives, small business owners (whose views) definitely resonate with President Trump’s economic agenda,” Wilcox said, adding, “Especially his ‘America First’ policy which unleashed so much economic prosperity for a lot of us.” He described Haley’s speech as “very powerful,” and described Trump as “a tough leader on the world stage. America is back.”

Kush Desai, a graduate of Dartmouth College, has served as Communications Director for the Republican Party of Iowa since December 2022 to January 2024, after which he became the Deputy Communications Director for the Milwaukee Convention.

Adi Sathi is a Republican strategist and public policy expert, has over the last decade,  managed or advised numerous successful political campaigns throughout the United States. From 2017-2019, he was the National Director of Asian Pacific American Engagement at the Republican National Committee (RNC) under the leadership of Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel. He also served as Chief of Staff to the Young Republican National Federation (YRNF) from 2017-2021. In these roles, Adi has traveled to over 20 states and hosted or supported hundreds of events throughout the country.

(This article was updated July 17, from an earlier report on July 15 , 2024)

(Attendees at the GOP National Convention assisted with this report)