 Most Indian Americans do not identify with Kamala Harris, Nikki Haley, or Vivek Ramaswamy, but why not? Yeah, we gotta talk about it. This brand new Time Magazine article just dropped and went viral on Reddit. It says, in Nikki, Vivek, and Kamala, Indian Americans find incomplete representation. So there's a ton of interesting stuff in this article, Andrew. Did you know that Indian Americans make up 1.5% of the US population? And as of right now, they're making up 50% of the Republican presidential candidates that are left in the field. It would go Trump, DeSantis, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy. Whoa, whoa, whoa. And there was one other guy that started to run, but I don't even think he's in the running. You're talking about her Singh and Bobby Jindal dropped out, too. So at one point, it was like 60%. Holy crap. But anyways, guys, we're gonna talk about it. So we're gonna talk about why a lot of Indian Americans do not identify with them. Obviously, I don't speak for Indian Americans, but we're basing it off the article and kind of based off what we know in the other comments. So anyways, please hit that like button, check out other episodes of the Hot Pop Boys. I mean, obviously Kamala Harris Andrew. Her name, Kamala, is a South Indian name. She is of half Indian descent. Her other half is Jamaican. But I guess even to this day, some people don't know that. Right, right. And but anyways, guys, before we continue, I gotta give a shout out to smallassauce.com. Not Kamala Harris, but Smallama, and I'm just kidding, but yeah. Check out Smallassauce right here. You can buy it. There's a lot of cool content out on our Instagram right now, Smallassauce. So they asked a like Indian political expert in this article to sort of break it down for people, right? Because she was familiar with the macro political nuances as well as the internal, I guess, community dynamics that you really gotta just know a lot about to understand. Indian Americans make up the largest share of Asian Americans who identify with just one race. More than other Asian American groups, they tend to support Democrats. 56% of Indian Americans think of themselves as Democrats. 27%, 7% as independents, and only 15% as Republicans. So basically, somebody said, that doesn't mean the presence of Indian Americans in the Republican primary won't have an impact though. And then this Indian political expert said, what we're really looking at are our two people who do not believe that anything is out of their reach. Ah, very ambitious people. Because here's the thing, David, if Indian Americans make up less of the Republican party, make up, right, 15% as they identify, then why are there so many Indian Americans running as Republicans? Are they getting boosted somehow? Is there some other like reason why people, the Republicans would want to see them run? Yeah, I mean, I think it's a really interesting question. We're gonna get into the comments section. Make sure you like, subscribe, turn on your notifications. It gets complicated here, because there's internal community dynamics, there's macro dynamics, there's internal party dynamics that shift over time in different eras. Somebody said, both Vivek and Nikki Haley use their own biography to make people in the Republican party who feel defensive about white nationalism or racism, they make them feel good. These are two minority candidates and their life stories are vindication of the fact that the US is not a racist society. So basically, I don't know if this is why they are running, but part of the effect of them running is to show that America's not racist, because look, we have brown people running on the Republican side. They work their way up, all the way up to get to where they're at, so that America can't be racist for that reason. Right, that's what they're saying. They're saying that that's their appeal to the party base. Yes, yes, yes. Anyway, let's just get into some quick thoughts, Andrew. Obviously, if 57% of Indians, and I believe statistically most Indians are Hindu, identify with the Democratic Party, how can these Republicans represent them? And they're typically, if you guys know about what it takes to run for president, you have to be from a very wealthy family. Like- Or you have to have some money. Like Vivek is very wealthy. Nikki Haley has money. Her Singh, Bobby Jindal, they all had money. So I guess, why would they represent the constituency? Right? Typically, I feel like black Republicans, it's not that there are none, but they don't represent, in the same way Obama had mass appeal to the average African-American voter. Right, right, right. What do you think, do you think they appeal? I mean like, Andrew, what about the Hari Kandabula crowd? Mindy Kaling, the NAV crowd, obviously NAV's Canadian, but you know, the tech founder crowd, who would appeal to them? Because I'm not saying that these guys appeal to Vivek, he comes from the tech world, but I'm not saying that they love him either. I would say that identifying as a Democrat is a lot different than voting as a Democrat. Now, if of the Indian-Americans who actually vote, maybe the percentages are a little bit more even, because you know, voters is one segment, and then what you write down on a poll is a different segment, right? A lot of people don't vote, that's why. No, no, a lot of Asians don't vote. Right, a lot of Asians don't vote, and I think a lot of Indians still don't vote either. So I think that it's almost like the Indians who do vote, maybe they're more like, I don't know, maybe a lot of them, maybe a little bit more of them identify as Republican. I'm not really sure, but I'm just trying to throw stuff out because I just think it's really interesting that it's like the few Indians that are Republicans all want to run for president. Or they all- And they all went decently far, if not quite far. Yeah, they all went way farther than everybody thought, so I think it's really interesting. Do you think that this is more of an internal Asian dynamics thing, Andrew? It shows that Indian-Americans truly believe that the sky is the ceiling when it comes to rising up the American political ladder in a way that East Asians or Southeast Asians just may simply, to their core, not be able to believe. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think that's true. I think that's partially the reason why there's so many more Indian-born CEOs hired in American Fortune 500 companies. We've talked about this before on the channel. I think they do have a different belief in themselves. I do think a lot of East Asian, like, Asiatic-looking people, we tend to believe. You're like, ah, America kinda hates our faces, sort of. So we're not gonna get that far. I'm just gonna try to do what I can. I'm gonna make a few million and be quiet and not try to take over it. Or maybe I'll become a senator, state senator, maybe, or a assembly person, a lot of Asian assemblymen and assemblywomen. There's a lot of Asians in that sector of the politics. More like middle management of American politics. Right, right, but they're not super, super high up. Some of them are a little bit more powerful than others, but essentially, they're not running for president. But of course, we know Andrew Yang, he did run four years ago. And there was questions, to be honest, of Andrew Yang and how much of the Asian vote did he actually represent? Because I have a question before we get into the comment section, is, to the viewers out there, what does the Indian vote care about? If we're gonna separate the Indian vote out. You mean even from the East Asian vote and South Asian vote? Yeah, because I think the general Asian voter cares about safety, crime, and being acknowledged that they're being targeted. That's like number one. And then there's education, fair education, and then business opportunities. You're saying that this is what the immigrants, first gen care? This is what I think immigrant, Asian, first gen generally care most about. And then some geopolitics, right? Because obviously, if you're from there, you don't want. You're still tapping. You still are tapped into the geopolitics, but that's maybe a lower. So I'm saying, what does the Indian constituency care about? Is it any different than what I just described? It's an interesting point. You know what, the Time Magazine article did not get into those things. Also interestingly enough, Andrew, the Prime Minister of the UK right now is a conservative Tory, Rishi Sunak. Yeah. They're into politics in the Western world, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, let's get into the comments section. You know, comments all across the board, guys. This one said, the average American would consider Kamala Black, Nikki White. Vivek would be the only one that looks Indian to the average person. This is interesting, right? A lot of it depends on how you look, man. It really depends on how you look. All right, so this is kind of an aside, Andrew. I had to look into it even deeper for this, because I was like, yo, why does Nikki Haley? Appear to not look Indian. And by the way, I'm saying other Indians have said this, too. It's not just us having this image of it. So apparently, Nikki Haley is a Punjabi Jat, which is a tribe in Northern India that has a lot of Sindhian and heftalite blood. And these are just ancient tribes that were moving in the North India region. So that's why she has that look. You mean she looks like she could be Iranian or Persian? Yeah, like Angie Harman or a Sicilian or something like that. And I guess that's just the nature of that. And that's just something a lot of people have mentioned. That's the nature of sharing borders with people. Yeah, I would say that visually, Nikki Haley looks like Angie Harman kind of. Kamala looks like a D1 basketball coach, but from a good program, Tennessee, Yukon. And then I would say Vivek. You know, yeah, it looks more, I guess, what people would say is like conventionally Indian, but he definitely looks like leisure Larry. Somebody said, these are classic examples of why we shouldn't vote for people just because they have familiar sounding names or backgrounds. This goes back to your Andrew Yang point, because some people were bringing in, yeah, because I supported Andrew Yang at first, and he broke my heart. Yeah, no, I mean, listen, I think it's, I think it just goes to show you that not one person's face can represent everybody. I mean, there was black people who didn't identify with Obama. That Obama wasn't black enough for them. So, you know what I mean? Everybody, there's always going to be people who feel that way. Right, right, right. Or maybe they felt like he was too moderate left and instead of like radical left or whatever. Somebody was saying, I find it funny because they picked the three candidates that probably, I believe this person's Indian American, by the way, that probably Indian Americans basically, I think Vivek honestly just speaks for himself. He's out to like be selfish and win the game, right? Nikki just tries to come across as white, but she only brings up her Indian heritage in opportune times. Most white voters are surprised that she's not white or at least they thought she was half white. And then they said that Kamala does speak about her Indian heritage a little bit, doesn't try to actively hide it. But if you saw her political history, she's always portrayed and aligned herself with the black caucus. And that is how she uses identity politics. She's a black politician. And then this Indian guy goes on to say this, Andrew. I don't think it's controversial to say that many Indians that aspire to be managerial are willing to do great lip service or acting service and willing to bend for the ultimate prize. So this is just something that they're saying that they've noticed. Obviously this is a way to put it. I would not put it this way. I would just say it's almost like trying to win the game. Somebody was saying Republican voters actually seem more willing to compromise on the identity of their leader if they'll actually provide the results they want versus Democrats. How interesting is that? Because they're saying that their willingness to embrace these different phenotypes on the right, as long as the people are very right-wing, shows that the right-wing is more accepting than the left-wing. I did always wonder that. I did think it was very interesting that, yeah, I don't know. I'm not sure if that's true, but I see what they're saying. That it does seem that way. It does seem that way. Oh, did you know there was a guy who actually looks like our uncle? And his name was Alan Feng too. And he almost became a state senator, I believe in Rhode Island. For the Republicans, I think. For the Republicans. And he literally looks like somebody I would see at a family reunion and it all come. Listen, there's gonna be, I think there's gonna be a lot more colored minority Republican candidates coming up soon. I think so, yeah. So in the next 12 years, dude. And maybe there'll be, I think that, you know what, I think, and I just thought of this, they might be more successful because they'll take the hatred out of the tone that like Taylor, Meijery Green has. And they'll be maybe more like fiscal. I don't know. Maybe, maybe. Somebody said, it's not an accident. Capitalism will use the opportunity to serve you more regressive policies with a more empathetic wrapper if you, because they can get away with it. Basically saying the right is using these looks and these immigrant stories to put a new wrapping on an old regressive policy. Of course, that's their perspective. Somebody said, these three paint a good picture of how class is able to minimize systematic oppression to a large extent. Do you think it's true? Cause I said, you know, class and race, it's such a complicated topic in America. Class and race, are they inextricably linked or do the presence of South Asians that are all rich and wealthy and Rishi Tsunaka's a billionaire himself in the UK, does that show that really class was always transcending over race or are they so in mesh together, you can't parse it out? I don't know. Maybe. I do think, I think like out of three factors, if you have two of them, it will trump the other one. You know what I mean? Like, let's say you take culture or like your culture, like Vivek's culture aligns with Republicans or Nikki Haley's, I'll put Vivek because Vivek looks clearly different than Nikki Haley. So Vivek's culture and his message aligned with Republicans. In class wise, he represents a certain class too. Then I do think that will help trump his race. I don't know if it's completely, but if you completely represent everything they want, but your skin color's just different, but everything that comes out of your mouth and how you sound in your class represents them, then I do think a lot of people will overlook the race. You know what? I think I agree with you in the sense that depending on the situation, the way you distribute between three different pie slices on a pie chart could vary, but maybe there's no one slice that's like 80, 90%, that is so dominant where the other two cannot compete with it. This last comment from Daisy American, I think it's exhausting being an Indian-American in the political space. Uber lefties think you're a model minority and racists devalue your experience and right-wingers think you're boomer brown uncles. There's no winning. Because obviously they're saying that maybe possibly your boomer uncle is more likely to be Republican than Democrat, but that's might be true for every immigrant. But David, you know what it is, man? Even though this is kind of a, it's a very interesting thing for Indian-Americans. Like this, it's like, and then it's also like you bring in like how do other Asians identify with any of these people? Do other Asians care that there's Indians running? I do. I think it's interesting. Do I identify with any of these people? I guess I do a little bit more than I would identify with other people. I guess, I don't know, but like not really. So I guess like the whole question is, is this progress and are people at least excited at the fact that more minorities are running for high position and that maybe in time those candidates will get better and be more accurately representing their constituency? Yeah. I mean, I think- Like is this good progress even though we may not like any of these people? If you probably low-key corner a lot of really powerful Asians and turn the microphone off, Andrew, they probably would take it because they're like, I want to see Asians penetrate higher levels of society being political, party agnostic. Asians have to try. Right, but if you interview them on camera, they probably would say no, the means don't justify the ends or something like that. I don't know, dude. You know, a lot of people, they say different things on camera, off camera. Overall, I'm gonna keep it real. If I was Indian, I think it's- It'd be interesting. It's exciting, right? Yeah, I mean, listen, even if you're an Indian person who does not care about any of these candidates, even Kamala, Vivek or Nikki, you can still take some inspiration away from it and be like, damn, yo, there's a lot of Indians putting themselves out there. I should do what I want to do. You know what I mean? And I think that this race does inspire a lot of young Indians to step into politics and be like, you know what? I like this about Vivek, but I don't like this about Vivek. I'm gonna be the Vivek for the other side or something. Yeah, I'm gonna take what I like and dislike from all these people. I'm gonna mix and match and I'm gonna become the better candidate. Yeah, by the way, guys, also a guy named Vivek, who owner of the Sacramento Kings, as well, if you guys didn't know. I think that it also goes to show you that Indians, I guess, obviously everybody has both sides, more on the entrepreneur side versus entrepreneur side. American politics as a pre-built structure, you would need to be a better entrepreneur to rise up that ladder. That's true. Because you're navigating things that have rules that you can't change. Isn't this just another case, a bunch of Indians applying to be CEO of America? Hey, a lot of Indian CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, is there gonna be an Indian CEO of America? That's a good point. Maybe not this year, but- The UK signed up for it. Oh yeah, the UK has an Indian CEO. Anyways guys, let us know in the comments down below what you think about all this. It is really interesting that Indians are way over super represented amongst presidential candidates and especially on the Republican side, even though most Indians don't identify as Republican. That's really interesting, but I guess maybe the few Indians who are Republican, David, they really wanna lead. So, let us know- I'll tell you this, man. They clearly got a fire that's burning within them because they're attacking and they're doing well. Anyway, let us know what you guys think in the comment section below. Keep it civil. We encourage the debate. Check out smileysauceandsmileysauce.com from SirTronAscistly. Until next time, I'm gonna hop out, boys, we out. Peace.