https://www.wired.com/story/maga-indians-went-all-in-on-trump/

South Asians are a powerful, visible minority in the Trump administration. They’re also facing a racist backlash, fueled in part by the white nationalist Groyper movement.

But even as South Asians in the US hold a disproportionate slice of jobs in tech and health care, as well as highly visible roles in the White House, they’re facing a noxious swell of racism online—with much of it seemingly coming from MAGA adherents. Some tell WIRED the vitriol is making them feel duped by the president and fearful that the hateful rhetoric will become a mainstay for the party.

“After the victory of Trump, a lot of people started looking for the next enemy,” says Anang Mittal, a creative strategist who’s worked for several Republicans and served under House speaker Mike Johnson. Mittal, who was born in India and voted for Trump twice, resigned in 2024. By his estimation, the newest enemy is Indian American people, including conservatives. “We're the more visible members of the Republican Party,” he says.

South Asians with top roles in and around the Trump administration include White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai, FBI director Kash Patel, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the DOJ Harmeet Dhillon, White House AI adviser Sriram Krishnan, National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya, and second lady Usha Vance.

They are a powerful minority (the majority of Indian Americans voted Democrat in the 2024 election), and some of the few people of color in an overwhelmingly white administration. But they are also part of a government that has made opposition to diversity one of its marquee issues and that’s bolstered by right-wing influencers ringing alarms about the country’s Indian invasion. Indian Americans in the administration work alongside colleagues who’ve said “never trust a Chinaman or Indian,” and “normalize Indian hate.”