MAGA brown-out: For Indian Trump acolytes, citizenship comes with an asterisk

Indian-origin conservatives in the Trump orbit have always believed that ideology matters more than race. However, they are now discovering that in the MAGA world, ideology is not enough – race also plays a crucial role. This was evident in the case of Harmeet Dhillon, a legal expert born in Chandigarh, who faced ridicule after posting a photo of a beef dinner.

Dinesh D'Souza, another conservative, defended his daughter from racist attacks by emphasizing that her mother is white. Similarly, Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley also had to prove their American credentials. Democrats and liberals have faced similar challenges, with Pramila Jayapal receiving death threats and Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi responding with defiance.

The schadenfreude among progressives is evident as they needle conservative Republicans who have proudly told others on the internet that their daughters have white mothers. Vivek Ramaswamy has faced racial hostility from the right, while Nikki Haley encountered a similar contradiction during her presidential campaign. The irony is that some MAGA members now argue that "heritage Americans" have a superior claim to the country, despite previously asserting that race should not determine American identity.