The excitement doubled when one of the two Indian-Americans in the fray for the Republican nomination threatened to remove himself from the Colorado ballot and join Trump. Indian-American candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is like Trump, unpredictable and volatile. Ramaswamy’s threat puts Nikki Haley, the other Indian-American in the race, in a spot. Ramaswamy has asked Haley and Chris Christie, and Ron DeSantis also, to remove themselves from the Colorado ballot.

Nikki Haley is trailing Donald Trump by a mile in the polls, but is yards ahead of Ramaswamy, why should she back Trump and Ramaswamy? Trump kept away from the Republican presidential debates but Vivek is there to raise the temperature above room-level and his favourite punching bag is the former UN envoy. Haley calls Vivek “scum” and Vivek holds up a “Nikki=Corrupt” placard. The two are playing the US version of “North Indian Vs. South Indian”.

Now, Vivek has asked Nikki to dump her blank stare, which is Nikki’s standard response to criticism, and do what Republican voters expect her to, which is stand firm with Vivek and serve the MAGA cause. Haley was Trump’s UN envoy and owes Trump her transformation from bit player to presidential hopeful. The wrath of the Trumpian Republicans awaits the insurrectionist in the Republican Party. And Ramaswamy’s ultimatum is a warning to Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Chris Christie.

At your own peril is the message. The MAGA movement is the mainstay of the Republican challenge to a second Biden-Kamala Harris term. But doesn’t run with Nikki Haley. She is expecting Trump‘s conviction, sooner rather than later, and Nikki will not do a Vivek. Haley has powerful backers, huge moneybags and like a Republican voter told her to her face, “You speak and sound like a Democrat”.

Contrast Vivek Ramaswamy with Nikki Haley. Nikki is the older person. Ramaswamy is the intelligent student banished to the back-bench. The mainstream American media sees in Ramaswamy another billionaire “insurrectionist”. Ramaswamy’s threat to remove himself from Colorado has upset Haley’s plans. Ron DeSantis is in a dilemma and Chris Christie, though he wants the people to vote Trump out and not the court, must be praying for “more Colorados” as would Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

The advantage for Vivek Ramaswamy is that he has made a place for himself in the MAGA heart. Perhaps even Donald Trump’s, who knows? ‘The Republicans In Name Only’ back Nikki Haley even as Donald Trump is the runaway victor in opinion polls. And Vivek Ramaswamy has taken a liking for Donald Trump’s coattails. The reality is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ranks second behind Trump in the opinion polls, and Nikki Haley is snapping at the DeSantis heels while Vivek Ramaswamy gets all the nasty press and the YouTubers’ hurrahs.

Meanwhile, the Colorado ballot ban gives Trump more room to further deploy MAGA. Trump is placed ahead of Joe Biden in almost all of the swing states. The Colorado ban and Vivek Ramaswamy’s threat to self-ban have together increased excitement to fever-pitch. There is the danger of Haley, DeSantis and Chris Christie being swept away in the Trump tsunami. The contest for the Republican nominee is at an inflection point.

Vivek Ramaswamy’s warning “I pledge to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary ballot until Trump is also allowed to be on the ballot, and I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie and Nikki Haley do the same immediately – or else they are tacitly endorsing this illegal manoeuvre which will have disastrous consequences for our country” changes completely the complexion of the Republican primaries which which will start come January 2024.

The question is, can, and will, former UN envoy Nikki Haley say “No” to businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, and to the MAGA movement, which isn’t on her side? Ramaswamy has labelled the Colorado ban “appalling for the future of our country” and that even though “it would be a lot easier for me to get elected if Trump wasn't in this race” but that “It’s not about me”. Nikki Haley is different, for Nikki Haley “it’s about me”. (IPA Service)