WASHINGTON: Indian-American and Republican presidential candidate hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy on Thursday responded to a question about whether the US will accept a president of a different faith at a CNN town hall.
Starting by saying he respectfully disagrees, Vivek went on to say he is not a 'fake convert' and won't lie to ramp up his political career. Going on to add, Vivek asserted that Hinduism and Christianity "share the same value set in common."
"If I wanted to map out my political career and really solve it, I could fake convert. I'm not going to do that. I'm going to tell you about my faith," he said.
"My upbringing was quite conventional. My parents taught me that marriages are sacred, families are the cornerstone of society, abstinence before marriage is a viable option when things don't work out, and adultery is wrong. that enjoying life's pleasures requires giving something up. Are those values not from elsewhere?" the US presidential candidate added.
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Vivek emphasised that there is only one true god and highlighted the values of the Hindu religion.
He said, "There's one true God. Don't take his name in vain. Observe the Sabbath. Respect your parents. Don't kill. Don't lie. Don't cheat; don't steal. Don't commit adultery. Don't covet. That's when it hit me. We share the same values in common. There's another core teaching in my faith, which is that we don't get to choose who God works through. God chooses who God works through."
He added, "Based on my religious beliefs, I understand that every person is here for a reason, and it is our moral obligation to fulfil that reason because God lives within each of us; even though God works through us in various ways, we are all equal."
Ramaswamy once again reiterated his call to ban birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants and asserted, "We shouldn't reward those who violate the law."
He said, "I say this as the kid of legal immigrants: I favour ending birthright citizenship for those whose parents entered the country illegally because we shouldn't reward those who violate the law with the intent of exploiting the citizenship rules. The best border policy is to end incentives for illegal migrants to be here. Democrats created them, but Republicans aren't blameless either."
Earlier this year, Ramaswamy announced his 2024 US presidential election bid.
He is a native of southwest Ohio. His mother was a geriatric psychiatrist, and his father worked as an engineer at General Electric. Ramaswamy was born on August 9, 1985, and raised in Cincinnati. His parents migrated to the US from Kerala.
He is the second Indian-American to enter the 2024 Republican presidential primary after Nikki Haley.
He is the fourth Indian-American ever to run for the White House—Bobby Jindal ran in 2016 and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020.