Ramaswamy Calls Out ‘Racist’ Donna Brazile Who Mispronounced His Name and Hinted He ‘Go Home’

GOP Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is feuding with former Democratic National Committee chair, Donna Brazile.

Brazile, a Democratic strategist, purposefully mispronounced Vivek Ramaswamy's name when she appeared on the November 17 episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, per The Daily Beast. After mispronouncing Ramaswamy's name on purpose during a panel discussion with host Bill Maher and former Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Brazile declared he “needs to shut the hell up and go home.” Even after Maher corrected her, she ended up ignoring it. “Whatever,” she said, adding: “Is it Vivek Ramasama?”

The audience laughed despite Maher's repeated attempts to ensure she acknowledged his name. “Thank you so much,” Brazile replied with a snicker. “I learn so much for coming on this show.” Maher then interfered, saying he felt it was racist to not know his name. “I just feel like there’s something wrong with everybody refusing to learn to say his name. I just feel there’s a little racism there.”

That issue was picked up by Ramaswamy and his campaign when they blasted Donna for her words, which his supporters later used on Twitter. “I wonder what they’d do if a white Republican intentionally mispronounced Donna’s name & then told her to return ‘home,’” Ramaswamy posted on X, referring to a post that included the clip and claiming Brazile hinted Ramaswamy should return to India.

Ramaswamy’s communications director and senior adviser Tricia McLaughlin went all guns blazing when she slammed Donna and the DNC, saying to The Daily Mail, “Reverse racism is racism. If that were a white Republican they would be fired and torn to shreds on cable TV. Donna will probably get an ‘atta boy’ from her colleagues. Gross.”

The Real Time with Bill Maher segment lasted another minute, with Kinzinger interjecting with confirmation that he could correctly pronounce the incendiary presidential candidate's name. Maher then attempted to move the subject along, but not without one final jab at Ramaswamy. “I know we don’t like him but, you know, just say his name right,” Maher said.

Ramaswamy has himself been accused of purporting anti-black racism in his campaign, including calling Juneteenth a waste holiday, comparing Ayanna Pressley, a Black Democrat representing Massachusetts, to “modern grand wizards” of the Ku Klux Klan, and claiming that there is no structural racism in the US. Ramaswamy doesn't like being called Indian American, thinks dwelling on race is unnecessary, and prefers to refer to himself as only "American," per The Hill. 

According to Brandon Weathersby of American Bridge PAC, Ramaswamy's rhetoric also ignores systemic concerns that beset Black and brown communities that confront violence. Many of his supporters have stated that much of his rhetoric is not only racist and sexist in words but also harmful on paper. “What’s dangerous here is that you run the risk of making life even harder for folks that are up against the eight ball by not acknowledging some of the systemic issues in our country along the lines of race,” Weathersby said.