US author slammed for racist comments against Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley

Prominent American conservative media pundit and author Ann Coulter is facing a backlash for making racist comments against two Indian-American US presidential contenders -- Niki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy -- by calling them "Hindu business", according to a media report.

During Wednesday night's first Republican presidential debate, Coulter characterised a heated exchange between former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy as "Hindu business," NBC News reported on Thursday.

Coulter, 61, in her tweet on the social media platform X said: "Nikki and Vivek are involved in some Hindu business, it seems".

On Thursday, she started to face backlash, with Ramaswamy’s senior adviser and communications director, Tricia McLaughlin saying that Coulter could tweet whatever she wanted to.

"Ann can tweet whatever she wants to," McLaughlin said in her tweet.

She further said: "Vivek shares and lives by the same Judeo-Christian values that this nation was founded on — and the way Vivek lives his family life offers a positive example for their own children and grandchildren".

Ramaswamy, 38, is Hindu while 51-year-old Haley was born into a Sikh family and is a Christian, which she has been vocal about in her public life.

The heated exchange Coulter appeared to refer to wasn’t even about religion but rather US aid to Ukraine and Israel, the report said.

Both conservatives and liberals have criticised Coulter for her comment.

Replying to Coulter's racist comment, a random person in a tweet said: "Nikki Haley was born Sikh and is a practising Christian, you racist troglodyte".

Sangay Mishra, the author of “Desis Divided: The Political Lives of South Asian Americans", said: "Completely expected that she would attack them but using a white racist trope invoking a religion is beyond disgusting".

It isn't the first time this election cycle that Coulter has been in the news for racist comments about Haley.

In February, she was criticised for telling Haley to "go back to your own country" as part of a larger tirade on a podcast.

“What’s with the worshipping of the cows? They’re all starving over there," she said during an appearance on the “The Mark Simone Show” podcast. "Did you know they have a rat temple, where they worship rats?"

Coulter has also called Haley a "bimbo" and a "preposterous creature."

Haley didn't immediately respond to requests for comment, the report said.

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