Donald Trump: Sriram Krishnan Outrage: Who are the Groypers and what is their problem with American Indians?

When Sriram Krishnana celebrated Indian American entrepreneur and technology innovator, has been appointed by the President-elect as Senior Policy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence Donald Trump in December 2024, the announcement should have been a watershed moment. He showed how american indians are at the forefront of technological innovation and public service. Instead, it became another flashpoint for far-right extremists, particularly for Groypersand provocative as Laura Loomerwho took the opportunity to fuel racial and cultural division.
Loomer, infamous for her inflammatory rhetoric, accused Krishnan and other Indian Americans of “stealing jobs” and being part of an alleged immigrant takeover, echoing the anti-immigrant dog whistles the Groypers amplify. Her statements, full of xenophobia and paranoia, have found fertile ground in the Groyper community, a collective of far-right agitators that thrive on the Internet.

Who are Groypers?

The Groypers aren’t just another internet troll group. Led by figures like Nicholas Fuentes, they have cultivated an online subculture that uses humor, memes and irony to propagate deeply reactionary ideologies. Their symbol—a variation on the once-benign Pepe the Frog meme—has become a twisted emblem of white nationalismanti-immigrant sentiment and a rejection of modern multiculturalism.
Unlike the broader, disorganized alt-right, Groypers are strategic. They target mainstream conservatives, accusing them of being too moderate, while positioning themselves as the true guardians of “America First” values. Public figures such as Charlie Kirk and Ben Shapiro have been frequent targets of their confrontational tactics, which involve disrupting events with provocative, racially charged questions designed to embarrass the speaker and create viral moments.

Why American Indians?

Indian Americans like Krishnan have become particular targets because they symbolize the success of a community that Groypers see as outsiders. Their achievements in technology, medicine, and academia are reframed in Groyper’s rhetoric as threats, perpetuating the baseless claim that immigrants are replacing “real Americans.” Krishnan’s appointment was met with the same xenophobic attacks the Groypers have mounted in the past, amplified by social media platforms where their followers spread memes mocking Indian culture and accusing high-skilled immigrants of undermining American values.
This is not just casual racism. It’s a calculated effort to delegitimize contributions from immigrant communities while reinforcing Groypers’ vision of a homogenous, exclusionary America.

A movement wrapped in irony

What makes Groypers particularly insidious is their ability to operate in the murky space between humor and hate. They deploy memes and jokes that, on the surface, seem absurd or satirical. But beneath the irony lies a clear agenda: normalizing bigotry and recruiting disaffected youth who might initially laugh at the joke but later embrace the ideology.
Their tactics are optimized for the internet age. A mocking meme about Krishnan might start as a joke in a fringe forum, but it can quickly go viral, spreading their toxic narrative to a wider audience. This mix of humor and hate makes it difficult to challenge them directly – call them out and they’ll dismiss you as humorless or oversensitive. Ignore them, and their ideas take root.

The wider implications

The Groypers are more than just a nuisance on the internet. They highlight the pipeline of radicalization that thrives in the unregulated spaces of the digital world. A teenager scrolling through edgy memes might laugh at their surface-level absurdity, but find themselves drawn deeper into a community where those “jokes” are gateways to extremist beliefs.
Krishnan’s appointment — and the vitriol it has sparked — underscores the stakes of this battle. The success of American Indians and other immigrant communities is a testament to the strength of a diverse and inclusive society. Groypers see this success as a threat and their attacks are an attempt to undermine it.