Is Vivek Ramaswamy right?

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There are two competing visions now emerging on the American right, and they are incompatible. One vision of American identity is based on lineage, blood and soil: Inherited attributes matter most. The purest form of an American is a so-called heritage American — one whose ancestry traces back to the founding of the United States or earlier.

This view is now popularized by the Groyper right, a rapidly ascendant online movement that argues for the creation of a white-centric identity. This is a predictable response — one that I anticipated in my 2022 book, “Nation of Victims” — to anti-white discrimination over the last half-decade, and it is no longer just a fringe viewpoint.

The alternative (and, in my view, correct) vision of American identity is based on ideals.

Americanness isn’t a scalar quality that varies based on your ancestry. It’s binary: Either you’re an American or you’re not. You are an American if you believe in the rule of law, in freedom of conscience and freedom of expression, in colorblind meritocracy, in the U.S. Constitution, in the American dream, and if you are a citizen who swears exclusive allegiance to our nation.

As Ronald Reagan quipped, you can go to live in France, but you can’t become a Frenchman; but anyone from any corner of the world can come to live in the United States and become an American. No matter your ancestry, if you wait your turn and obtain citizenship, you are every bit as American as a Mayflower descendant, as long as you subscribe to the creed of the American founding and the culture that was born of it. This is what makes American exceptionalism possible.

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"It’s a time for choosing in the conservative movement," he wrote.

Ramaswamy said those who support trans athletes competing in sports consistent with their gender identity, advocate for affirmative action policies, or promote hatred toward any racial or ethnic groups lack "have no place in this movement."

He also rejected admiration for historical authoritarian figures, specifically naming Hitler and Stalin.

"If you believe in normalizing hate towards whites, blacks, Indians, or Jews, you have no place in this movement. If you believe Hitler was cool, you have no place in this movement. If you believe Stalin should be admired, you have no place in this movement. If you call Usha Vance a 'jeet,' you have no place in this movement."

He concluded, "And if you don’t have the guts to say these things without stuttering, then you have no place as a leader in this movement."

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