Nikki Haley’s moderate conservative line will appeal to Indian American voters, feels her supporter Jiten Agarwal

It was a big day for Indian Americans as Nikki Haley, daughter of immigrants from Amritsar and US ambassador to the UN in the Cabinet of Donald Trump; kicked off her campaign for the White House in South Carolina. And Jiten Agarwal, CEO of QuantAi, a global data and AI company headquartered in Texas, was right there with her amidst the excitement of the launch event in Charleston, earlier this week.A prominent business and community leader in Houston, Texas, he is pulling out all the stops in supporting the former South Carolina Governor in her presidential bid. Along with his entrepreneurial hat, the IIT Delhi alum also works with several non-profits and firmly believes in the soft power of Indian Americans and going the extra mile to integrate with the mainstream community. Agarwal, who believes that Haley’s moderate conservative stand will appeal to Indian American voters, spoke to Times of India about why he thinks she will succeed. Edited excerpts from the interview.
You were at the event where Nikki Haley launched her presidential campaign – will you be supporting her in a big way?
Yes, on support in a ‘big way’. I was a special invitee to her events (a VIP reception and campaign launch) in Charleston, earlier this week. Nikki [Haley] has been a friend for a long time even before she became the Governor of South Carolina. She has a track record of winning the first time in whatever she did until now that too when no one took her seriously. She won the South Carolina House of Representatives elections in 2004 not only once but she served three terms. Everyone underestimated her and her opponents were long-term serving politicians. Similarly, she was elected Governor of South Carolina in 2010, and she won re-election in 2014 when again everyone underestimated her. She was the first female governor of South Carolina, the youngest governor in the country and the second governor of Indian descent. She became the first Indian American member of a presidential Cabinet as US Ambassador to UN in 2017. I am confident that she can win the 2024 race based on her track record, and I will be supporting her in a big way.

Will you be doing fund-raisers for her in the coming months?
Yes. Not only fundraisers but mobilising people to support her in whatever way they can. She has a good support from moderate conservatives and moderate liberals Americans. The US Presidential election is quite expensive and runs in billions of dollars. Donald Trump and Joe Biden have already raised significant money. We need to help Nikki [Haley] raise the funds from across the USA.
Do you think there will be a big support for her campaign from the entire Indian American community; or are Democrats unlikely to support her despite her being of Indian origin?
Nikki [Haley] is a moderate conservative. As US Ambassador to the United Nations, she had navigated the Trump era with a singular shrewdness, messaging and manoeuvring in ways that kept her in solid standing both with the GOP (Republican) donor class as well as with the president and his base. She maintained a direct line to Trump, keeping private her candid criticisms of him, while publicly striking an air of detached deference. Upon her resignation in 2018, the New York Times editorial page praised Haley as “that rarest of Trump appointees: one who can exit the administration with her dignity largely intact”. Hence, I don't think that the majority of the mainland Trump’s support base will oppose her. On the Indian American community, I feel that the Indian American community by and large is moderate conservative and/or liberal. There exists a faction that is of the Trump support base as well. Nikki [Haley] fits the bill very well with all.
For the conservative Indian American community, one worry is that the Republican party has lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections. Their cause is right but the party has failed to win the confidence of a majority of Americans because of inner differences within the party itself. As a result, messaging to the people is not right. The Republican Party needs to reinvent itself seriously and bring its core values and messaging in alignment with the changing demographics of the country. Nikki [Haley] is well positioned to help the Republicans rebuild the image and come up with the coherent and correct messaging to the US voters.
For the liberal Indian American community, Nikki [Haley] is a moderate conservative who can maintain a good balance with the policy related differences that liberals might have. I have not come across a single American of Indian origin who has approved of socialism and far left views of the Democratic Party. The community understands that socialism will lead America to a disaster based on the examples of so many other countries. One worry is that the Democrats seek to create a ‘cradle-to-grave’ welfare state by outrageous spending that endangers American capitalism and will significantly increase taxes on the middle class. Nikki [Haley] has strong views and plans to handle it. She is a perfect candidate to bring back capitalism to USA.

In the past, you have often spoken about the need for the Indian American community to engage in mainstream political and public service activities to better integrate in America – do you think that supporting the campaign of Nikki Haley will help you achieve that goal?
We are a brown community in the black and white America. Today, Indians represent the second largest US immigrant group, after Mexicans and ahead of Chinese and Filipinos. The 2.7 million Indian immigrants living in the United States as of 2021 made up 6 per cent of the total foreign-born population, and their numbers continue to grow. We have been making progress in integrating the Indian American community with all aspects of mainland America. This is very important. As a result, we have several Indian Americans serving as judges, in Congress, local officials, governors and now a candidate for the White House. If we want our voice to be heard, we have to participate in the politics and government system here. There is no other way. I serve on the advisory board of a large US veterans non-profit organisation Combined Arms and another non-profit Volunteers of America. Similarly, other Indian Americans have come forward to serve on US based non-profits serving local communities in recent years, which is a welcome change. Nikki [Haley] always says that we should not to focus on the differences, but the similarities. That is the only way to progress. She has done it herself time and again being a daughter of Sikh immigrants from Punjab, so leading by example.
What are some of the campaign highlights of Nikki Haley that are likely to resonate with the Indian American community?
If successful in the Primary, she would be the first woman and the first Asian American nominated by the Republican Party for president. She is the first brown female candidate for the highest political office in the country. She is an inspiration to our next generation, especially girls, who can also dare to dream to become whatever they want in their lives. This is huge. This can only happen in America also that’s why America is a great country.
Nikki has strong views on communist countries like China, and this is an important issue for the Indian American community; so, I believe that her strong message on China, her message on controlling spending by the government, her message on making America a leader again on the world platform, will resonate very well with the community.

If elected president, is she likely to be a friend of India?
I believe whosoever is elected president will be a friend of India. I don't think there is much debate on this issue. India has become a very important strategic partner of USA in recent years in South East Asia. India’s time has come and its role on the global platform cannot be ignored by anyone. Nikki [Haley] will of course be a very good friend of India. She understands about Pakistan harbouring terrorism and had urged President Trump to stop funding Pakistan.