Ro Khanna Makes Case For “Economic Patriotism” And Dem Party Reset In Southern California

India-West Staff Reporter

FULLERTON, CA – While dropping nuggets like his wife Ritu and Usha Vance text each other, and that he is no longer on speaking terms with Elon Musk, US Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) used a Southern California appearance on December 6 to deliver a sweeping argument that America must rebuild its economic foundations so it can also repair its social fabric.

Speaking to a select but diverse group of Indian Americans here, with allegiance to both sides of the aisle, from different religious backgrounds and generations, Khanna said the US is increasingly split between regions overflowing with innovation and wealth and vast stretches of the country where people feel permanently shut out. That gap, he argued, has left the nation both economically imbalanced and socially brittle.

“I represent a district of $18 trillion,” Khanna, who is in his fifth term in office, said, pointing to firms like Apple, Google, Nvidia, and Broadcom. “And yet 70% of the country doesn’t believe in the American Dream.”

Khanna’s phrase for the solution he offers is “economic patriotism,” and is a call to ensure that “every family and every community can have success in a modern economy.” California, Khanna said, offers both a model and a warning, and new technologies like AI must translate into broader gains for all. “The economy right now is working for a small group of people who get to call the shots,” he said.

For Khanna, this is not just a matter of material well-being but of democratic health. When people feel the future is open to their children, “they are more likely to buy into a multiracial America.” When they do not, grievance fills the vacuum, a dynamic he said Donald Trump has exploited by telling voters that newcomers and coastal elites have stolen their prosperity.

He pointed to Trump’s message in industrial regions: a story that America “used to be better” when it was less diverse. “Trump goes into Pennsylvania and Ohio and says, ‘You built the steel, you built the coal. And now they’re prospering in California and New York,” Khanna said. “He tells them they’re the forgotten Americans.”

The Congressman argued that Democrats cannot counter that narrative unless people in ruby red, small town America, “see that immigration and diversity are actually good for their kids,” and a path to real wealth creation.

Politics

Khanna fielded questions on politics. Highlighting his bipartisan work on the Epstein Transparency Act with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), he made the case that all was not hopeless in Washington, even in this polarized era. Not averse to calling out his own party, he said Democrats cannot rebuild trust simply by attacking Trump:  “We tried screaming that he is a fascist twice and we lost.” Instead, he suggested that the party stop treating internal disagreement as moral failure.

He felt Trump’s confrontational stance toward global allies is resonating across immigrant communities, including Indian Americans, with many returning to the Democratic fold because of Trump’s tariffs and insults. “He is basically insulting every country around the world. They all have diasporas,” he noted.

His comments on California were blunt and probably a show of where the political faults lie in the state’s Democratic Party. “There is a reason I am not running for governor,” Khanna declared without being asked, saying it had been badly governed with a homelessness crisis, housing shortages, and what he described as lax enforcement of basic public safety.

Elections

Every media report of course, has been talking about his ambition for even higher office – the White House. Asked about a potential matchup against J.D. Vance in 2028, Khanna responded: “We’re going to need someone who can speak to the working class. There should be a clash of ideas.” Once seen as someone following the lead of Senator Bernie Sanders in a liberal constituency, Khanna, now with national ambitions, seems to want to have some light between them. Dubbing himself a “progressive capitalist,” he seemed to rue the fact that a day earlier Vance had “tried to lump” him with Sanders and Zohran Mamdani as the politicians on the Democratic side he appreciates.

The event was upbeat about the growing political presence of Indian Americans, with host Navneet S. Chugh noting, “So 20 years ago we were about 1% of the country, and we started making noise, wanting 1% of Congress, and people laughed at us, saying we would never become congressmen, senators, or governors. But we kept making noise, and when we became four million Indian Americans, we did it with four members in Congress. Now we are about 1.4% of the country, more than five million people, and we have six Indians in Congress.” And so, he joked to the crowd, “Please, keep having your babies.”

About his fellow Indian American representatives, Khanna declared, “We’re very coordinated,” he said. “There is no real rivalry. We converge when it matters.”

Hopeful

Khanna was also optimistic about the future of the nation, saying the country had historically shown a remarkable capacity for self-correction: After the Civil War, Reconstruction. After Hoover, the New Deal. After Jim Crow, JFK, and LBJ. After George W. Bush, Barack Obama.  So, he said, “after Trump, if he continues in this direction, where he’s at 35% in the polls, we’re going to have an opportunity to have a major realignment, and to rebuild a government that works for the people.”

Visas

On other domestic issues, Khanna condemned attacks on Hindu temples and other religious targets, saying such violence must be addressed with universal protections against bigotry.

On immigration and high-skilled labor, he said he supports getting rid of the country caps and that the problem was that too many people who are on H1B visas are not getting their green cards for decades.

Co-hosts

The event, co-hosted by Sonny Kothari, Dr. Anil Shah, Ravi Tilak, and Georgia Dixit, concluded with people taking pictures and asking more questions of the Congressman over an Indian lunch hosted by Ritu and Navneet Chugh.