New York, Feb 21 (IANS): A prominent Pakistani-origin writer and public speaker has racially targetted Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley of using her "brown skin to launder white supremacist talking points".
"I see her and I feel sad because she uses her brown skin as a weapon against poor black folks and poor brown folks, and she uses her brown skin to launder white supremacist talking points," Wajahat Ali, who was a guest speaker on MSNBC's 'The Mehdi Hasan Show', said.
Haley, 51, the former South Carolina Governor, announced her presidential bid on February 14 in a video message where she proudly talked about her Indian heritage.
Born to immigrant parents from India, she said that as a brown girl, growing up in a black-and-white world, she saw the promise of America unfold before her.
Ali, who writes for the Daily Beast and The New York Times, said that Haley's parents benefited from the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the New York Post reported.
"Her father came here because he was a professor, he taught at a historically black college in South Carolina. That's how she became the proud American that she is," Ali, who has authored 'Go Back To Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American', argued.
He further said that Haley is the "perfect Manchurian candidate" for white supremacists and bigots.
Ali also reacted to racially charged comments by conservative pundit and author Ann Coulter, who called Haley a 'bimbo' and 'preposterous creature', and asked her to "go back to her own country".
"The reason I feel sad is because no matter what she does, it will never be enough. They will never love her. And if you don't believe me, what did Ann Coulter tell proud American Nikki Haley two days ago? 'Go back to your country'. Nikki, they'll never love you. It ain't worth it," Ali was cited as saying by The Post.
Apart from racially charged comments, Haley has also been slammed for claiming she was a part of the "new generation" at age 51.
Celebrity host Whoopi Goldberg told Haley: "You're not a new generation. You're 51. What are you talking about?"
In response to Goldberg, Haley told Fox News: "If my age is all they have, it means we're winning," she said.
"I'm okay with that."