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Vivek Ramaswamy reacts to ‘racist’ Babylon Bee parody piece on Trump’s White House 7-Eleven offer
Speculation is rife that Vivek Ramaswamy joining Trump's ticket.
After dropping out after Iowa caucus, Vivek Ramaswamy offered his support to Trump. In charged atmosphere in New Hampshire, many Trumpers chanted “VP, VP” indicating their support for Ramaswamy to get the number 2 job. For his part Trump said: “It's an honor to have his endorsement. He's gonna be working with us and he'll be working with us for a long time. Thank you.”
This led to severe speculation that Ramaswamy might be added to the Trump ticket with one commentator dubbing the Trump-Ramaswamy show as “Magaswamy”, a portmanteau of MAGA and Ramaswamy.
A piece on Babylon Bee – a popular right-wing conservative parody website – claimed that Trump had offered Ramaswamy a very important cabinet position: running the White House 7-Eleven store.
The piece read, faux-quoting Trump: “Under Biden, the White House doesn't even have a 7-Eleven. Not good! We're going to bring convenience back to the West Wing!”
It went to add that Trump would work closely with Ramaswamy every day and that he would stop by every for a Diet Coke and “one of those delicious warmed-up cheeseburgers under the hot light thingies”. During his term as POTUS, Trump was known for his partiality for Diet Coke and cheeseburgers.
The piece claimed that Ramaswamy had already started training for the position by watching training videos on “how to fix the Slurpee machine” and “offer fast service ringing up Big Gulps”.
The piece goes on to joke that Trump had considered DeSantis for the role but he’s “too short to see over the little hot dog display machine”.
This led several commentators including conservatives to accuse the Babylon Bee of “racism”. 7-Elevens have often been associated with Indian immigrants with the most famous trope being Apu from The Simpsons, a character that has often been derided for stereotyping Indian-Americans.
One commentator said: “Racist yes but also I think outdated … isn’t a more contemporary stereotype of an Indian guy that he’d be a tech executive?”
Another said: “I like the Bee, but this was kind of in poor taste.”
A third added: “This is disgusting & despicable. Shame on you @TheBabylonBee. . This is racist and this is America, we Republicans respect all. Stop your Hinduphobia right now. Trump supports @VivekGRamaswamy. I'm asking my followers to please tell @TheBabylonBee stop your racist, be American.”
Another added: “I don’t find this joke racist, just unoriginal and lazy. It is hilarious though seeing conservatives in the replies getting their panties in a twist over it. What happened to no subject being off limits to joke about?”
Meanwhile. Matt Walsh, a Conservative commentator associated with The Daily Wire where he runs The Matt Walsh Show which has hosted Vivek Ramaswamy said: “Check the comments to see “conservatives” actually offended by this joke. Absolutely pathetic. I guarantee @VivekGRamaswamy is not in the slightest bit offended. You guys really dont need to be his white knight to protect him from Babylon Bee headlines. He’ll be okay. I promise”
Reposting, Matt Walsh’s comment, Vivek wrote: “I’m a “survivor”.” Before he dropped out, Ramaswamy ran on a largely "anti-
Vivek's Hindu faith has often been the subject of much speculation among Conservative circles but he often unapologetically refused to disown his religion.
