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India has robustly countered remarks made by former U.S. President Donald Trump, dismissing them as “uninformed” and inappropriate. The comments, which described India as a “hellhole,” were deemed inconsistent with the strong diplomatic ties between the two nations.
The controversial statement originated from conservative broadcaster Michael Savage during an episode of his radio show, Savage Nation. Trump subsequently shared the show’s transcript on his Truth Social platform without adding any personal commentary.
In the transcript, Savage criticized current immigration policies, saying, “A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring the entire family in from China or India or some other hellhole on the planet.” He went on to argue that today’s immigrant class lacks loyalty to the United States, unlike European immigrants of the past.
These comments come in the context of Trump’s ongoing efforts to curb birthright citizenship in the U.S., a policy change that has faced legal challenges and is under review by the Supreme Court. Earlier this month, Trump made a historic appearance at a Supreme Court hearing focused on this contentious issue.
Trump has issued a directive seeking to restrict birthright citizenship in the US, a move that has been challenged in the US Supreme Court. Earlier this month, he attended a hearing on the issue in a historic visit to the court.
India’s foreign ministry reacted strongly to the comments on Friday.
“The remarks are obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste,” Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.
“They certainly do not reflect the reality of the India-US relationship, which has long been based on mutual respect and shared interests.”
The US embassy in New Delhi said: “The president has said ‘India is a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top’.”
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
India’s main opposition Congress party called the “hellhole” remark “extremely insulting and anti-India” and said it “hurts every Indian”.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take up this matter with the US President and register a strong objection,” the party said on X.
Indian government data shows nearly 5.5 million people of Indian origin live in the US. Indian Americans and Chinese Americans are the two biggest groups of Asian origin in the US.
Trump and Modi enjoyed warm ties during Trump’s first term, but relations cooled after India was hit last year with some of the highest US tariffs, many of which were rolled back this year. India and the US are now working on a trade deal aimed at preventing any renewed increase in tariffs and boosting sales to each other.
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