Ohio governor hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy has once again come out in support of US Second Lady Usha Vance, while speaking out against all racist attacks directed at her.

Just days ago, the Indian-origin entrepreneur-politician took aim at Groypers in a opinion-based piece for the New York Times. In the simplest words, the word ‘Groyper’ has become associated with the fanbase of white nationalist and right-wing pundit Nick Fuentes, who used the derogatory term “jeet” against Vice President JD Vance’s wife on the talk show, ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored.’

While at a conference organised by the Charlie Kirk-founded Turning Point USA this week, Ramaswamy again called out the surging bigotry among those leaning on the political right side.

Vivek Ramaswamy defends Usha Vance at Turning Point USA event

On Friday, the Republican candidate for Ohio governor took the stage at AmericaFest, the first Turning Point USA summit since conservative commentator Charlie Kirk‘s death. Videos from the Phoenix event took over social media platform X this week, as the former presidential candidate was seen reiterating the same statement he made in his recent NYT article.

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Taking aim at Fuentes’ previous comment, Vivek Ramaswamy firmly stated, “If you call Usha Vance, the second lady of the United States of America, a ‘jeet,’ you have no place in the future of the conservative movement.”

Prior to his appearance at the Phoenix event, Ramaswamy penned an opinion guest essay titled “What Is an American?” It was published on the NYT website on December 17, 2025.

Directly turning to what Ramaswamy said in support of Usha Vance, it went something like: “First, conservative leaders should condemn — without hedging — Groyper transgressions. If, like Mr. Fuentes, you believe that Hitler was “really f-ing cool,” or if you publicly call Usha Vance a “jeet,” then you have no place in the conservative movement, period.

“The point isn’t to clutch pearls, but to prevent the gradual legitimization of this un-American animus. This online edgelording reminds me of toddlers testing their parents’ limits: The job of a real Republican leader is to set firm boundaries for young followers, as a good father does for a transgressive son.”

Usha Vance has long been attacked online for various reasons

As has long been known, JD Vance’s wife is the first Indian-American and Hindu Second Lady of the US. Although born in California, she comes from a family of Hindu faith-following Telugu Indian immigrant parents.

According to a 2024 analysis of gendered and race-based attacks on Usha Vance conducted by All In Together, approximately 1,800 unique public posts and 16,000 public posts, replies, and shares on Twitter/X, Instagram, and TikTok containing such problematic remarks were made between January 1 and August 11, 2024.

The report further highlighted that all these posts, shares and everything combined had a total possible reach of 216 million accounts on social media.

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Common themes highlighted in these virtual attacks referenced Nick Fuentes’ criticism of JD Vance for having an “Indian wife.” According to All In Together, these accounted for about 13% of such public post targeting Usha Vance. At the top of the list were insinuation that the Vance family’s son Vivek was named after Vivek Ramaswamy, making for 33% of the total posts.

Thirdly, nearly 6% of these derogatory public posts accused Vance of having ties to Hindu nationalism.

For the unversed, All In Together (AIT) is a non-profit organisation aimed at “encouraging, equipping, educating, and empowering voting-age women to participate fully in America’s civic and political life,” as per its official website.

What does ‘jeet’ mean?

According to Moonshot’s data from online platform associated with Targeted Violence (TV), ‘jeet,’ which is a shortened version of the term ‘pajeet,’ is among the five most common anti-Asian slurs. Even though not many South Asians are familiar with the word, it still remains the most common anti-Asian slur in online spaces, as per a StopAAPIHate.Org report.

The report further highlights that the slurs were originally used to target just Hindus and Sikhs, they are now being broadly used to attack South Asians in general. KnowYourMeme.com traced the word’s origins to a 2015 thread on the online platform called 4chan.

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) also lists the term ‘pajeet’ as an ethno-religious slur in its Hinduphobia glossary. Noting that while Pajeet itself is not a real Indian-origin name, it’s derived from “Paiji,” which refers to brother in Punjabi. ‘Jeet’ or ‘Jit’ also remains a common suffix in Punjabi and Indian last names.

The HAF further states, “An invented term, Pajeet first appeared in a July 2015 meme on 4chan, a website where images are posted anonymously. The meme was one of the more popular spinoffs of “Mehmet, My Son,” a 4chan post featuring a comic series with a Turkish father asking his son to choose between a Turkish and Balkan fiancée in order to start a family. “Pajeet, My Son,” featured a comic strip in which Indians and India are mocked about open defecation.”

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Vivek Ramaswamy targeted Nick Fuentes at Turning Point USA summit

Early on, he also alluded to other previous comments made by Fuentes.

“You’ll forgive me for giving an exact quote from our online commentator Nick Fuentes,” Ramaswamy said on Friday. “If you believe that Hitler was pretty f***ing cool, you have no place in the future of the conservative movement.” The Republican politician earned a resounding round of applause for his remark at the Turning Point event.

“…You have no place with that level of hatred. You can debate the right resolution to the Russian-Ukraine war, but if you believe Joseph Stalin is someone to look up to, you have no place in the future of the conservative movement,” he went on.