Vivek Ramaswamy, who supported President Donald Trump after dropping out of the 2024 GOP presidential primary, is currently running for Governor of Ohio against Democratic opponent Amy Acton, a physician and former Director of the Ohio Department of Health. This week Ramaswamy, the son of immigrants from India, penned a New York Times op-ed, ‘Groyperism Isn’t Conservatism. It’s Anti-Americanism.’
[NOTE: Wikipedia calls Groypers a “far-right group loosely defined as followers, fans, or associates of the American white nationalist political activist Nick Fuentes.”]
In his Times piece, Ramaswamy complained about the growing online-right movement which he says “doesn’t represent the views of most real-world Republican voters” and criticized what he characterized as a “real reluctance from my former anti-woke peers to criticize the new identity politics on the right.”
Self-described Christian Nationalist Andrew Torba responded by criticizing the Ohio gubernatorial choices generally, drawing a rebuke from Ramaswamy. On social media, Torba wrote: “Ohio is cooked. Your choices for Governor are the Jewish covid lady and Vivek. Heads they win tails you lose.”
Ramaswamy replied to Torba: “There’s a lot wrong with my Democrat opponent, but her Jewish faith isn’t on the list. Back off, anti-American.”
There’s a lot wrong with my Democrat opponent, but her Jewish faith isn’t on the list. Back off, anti-American. https://t.co/vHSW62YVl2
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 20, 2025
Torba replied to Ramaswamy: “Ohio is 64% Christian. Its Jewish population is 1.5%. Its Hindu population is less than 1%…Neither of you worship the King that the vast majority of Ohioans call Lord. Both of you hold values theologically and fundamentally opposed to the Christian faith. You are two sides of the same foreign coin, arguing over which non-Christian gets to govern an American Christian people, my people.”
Ramaswamy’s defense of Acton reminded some of the memorable moment during the 2008 presidential campaign when the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) defended his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, against charges of anti-Americanism.
John McCain shuts down supporters calling Obama a domestic terrorist and an Arab, 2008 pic.twitter.com/WfxPn7I5xe
— CONTEXT VIDEOS (@Context2X) December 20, 2025
At a town hall meeting in Minnesota, a constituent told McCain that she couldn’t trust Obama, whom she referred to as “an Arab” and claimed was not a natural-born American citizen. McCain took the microphone from the woman and said: “No ma’am, he’s a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what this campaign is all about.”