MAGA lawyer Mehek Cooke and Vivek Ramaswamy / X/@MehekCooke
Indian-origin MAGA lawyer and Republican Mehek Cooke has opined on the growing debate inside the United States’ conservative movement, claiming that Americanness cannot be measured by ancestry while backing GOP leader Vivek Ramaswamy's rejection of ‘heritage Americanism.’
Cooke took to social media and made a post on X, mentioning that the real divide is not heritage but legality. Her post read,
“I am American. I came here legally and assimilated, our laws, culture, and shared standards. No one gets to rank my Americanness. The real divide is not heritage. It is legality and assimilation. Spoke with Vivek Ramaswamy backstage after his speech. That clarity wins.”
I am American. I came here legally and assimilated, our laws, culture, and shared standards.
— Mehek Cooke (@MehekCooke) December 21, 2025
No one gets to rank my Americanness. The real divide is not heritage. It is legality and assimilation.
Spoke with @VivekGRamaswamy backstage after his speech. That clarity wins. pic.twitter.com/174zj4rfFq
Cooke was born in India and moved to the US as a child, and grew up in Ohio. She serves as president of American Frontier Strategies, with previous experience in the Ohio Governor's Office and the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
While being a regular media commentator, Cooke has served as a surrogate for the Republican National Committee, advising on immigration, elections, and national security.
Cooke’s post comes after Ramaswamy’s speech at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest event, where he slammed racism and antisemitism within sections of the right-wing movement, especially following recent comments of White nationalist and right-winger Nick Fuentes, who called vice president JD Vance's Hindu-Indian wife Usha a "jeet."
Vivek reached out to several young conservatives and dismissed the idea that Americans with colonial-era roots, mentioning that there is no reason for someone being less of an American based on their family’s more recent migration into the States. He also condemned hatred towards any ethnic or religious group.
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