Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy trashed a major Midwest area newspaper on Thursday for publishing a political cartoon depicting MAGA voters yelling racial slurs at him while on the campaign trail.
Ramaswamy, the American entrepreneur of Indian descent, who has branded himself pro-MAGA presidential candidate, called the cartoon "shameful" for stereotyping conservative voters in such a way.
He also insisted that the left, not the right, are the only group he has experienced promoting the "bigotry" presented in the drawing.
The controversial cartoon was published in Wednesday’s edition of the Quad-City Times, an outlet reporting news from four cities between Iowa and Illinois. In black and white ink, it depicted a campaign rally with Vivek addressing MAGA voters, who were drawn hurling racial insults at him from the stands.
At the podium, Ramaswamy was drawn, saying, "Hello my MAGA friends!" Though three angry White men in the crowd each responded to his appearance with a racial slur.
One screamed, "Muslim!" getting the candidate’s religion wrong. Ramaswamy is a self-professed Hindu.
Another made a racist reference to the Kwik-E-Mart owner from "The Simpsons," yelling, "Get me a slushee, Apu!!!" and a third pulled out the old Obama-era birther line, demanding, "Show us your birth certificate!!!"
The cartoon also seemed to mock Ramaswamay’s campaign platform, with the drawing of the candidate’s poster behind him stating, "Quad City Republicans Welcome Anti-Woke Crusader Vivek Ramaswamy 2024."
The real-life candidate did not find the cartoon cute, but rather offensive for its stereotypical depiction of Republican voters as racists.
The candidate tweeted, "It’s sad that this is how the MSM views Republicans. I’ve met with grassroots conservatives across America & never *once* experienced the kind of bigotry that I regularly see from the Left."
Ramaswamy defended the paper’s right to print the cartoon, but insisted it was poor taste all the same. He claimed, "Iowa’s @qctimes absolutely has the right to print this, but it’s still shameful."
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Several prominent Twitter users joined Ramaswamy in denouncing the cartoon.
Podcaster and Financial Guys Media Network contributor Mike Sperrazza tweeted, "Typical BS from the "accepting, and all loving" leftists. As per usual, they are so inclusive to all other viewpoints and beliefs… Bravo to @VivekGRamaswamy for fighting back and calling out their hypocrisy."
Former Republican U.S. Senate candidate and Team Ramaswamy grassroots director Kathy Barnette tweeted, "Wow! SHAMEFUL! This is what the Left, specifically white Democrats, thinks about people like Vivek and myself. Rule of Thumb: The more Left leaning they are, the more racist they are. PERIOD."
Medical doctor Rupali Chadha defended the candidate, tweeting, "Wow… and you guessed it! This hate for a patriotic AMERICAN comes from the LEFT! @VivekGRamaswamy keep rocking it!"
Fox News Digital reached out to the Quad-City Times for response to Ramaswamy’s comments, though the outlet has yet to respond.
