Donald Trump’s amplification of a comment describing India and China as “hellhole” has drawn severe criticism from lawmakers and advocacy groups and a rare condemnation from Delhi.
Mr Trump shared on social media a video clip and transcript linked to conservative commentator Michael Savage, who was discussing efforts to end birthright citizenship in the US. Birthright citizenship is the principle under which a child born in a country automatically receives nationality there, regardless of the parents’ immigration status.
Among the remarks reposted by Mr Trump was the statement: “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.”
Mr Savage also claimed that English was no longer widely spoken in the US, immigrants showed little loyalty to the country, and hiring systems in California’s technology sector favoured people from India and China over white Americans. He said white men “need not apply” for jobs in California and added: “Your chances are nil.”
“They’ve done more damage to this nation than all the mafia families put together. In my unhumble opinion. Gangsters with laptops. They’ve robbed us blind, treated us like second-class citizens, let the trud world triumph, stepped on our flag, et cetera,” Mr Savage said.
Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the comments were “obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste.
“They certainly do not reflect the reality of the India-US relationship, which has long been based on mutual respect and shared interests.”
China has not yet responded to the post amplified by Mr Trump.
Indian news channel NDTV quoted US embassy in Delhi spokesperson, Christopher Elms, as saying Mr Trump had described India as a “great country with a very good friend of mine at the top”.
The White House also defended Mr Trump’s repost. Spokesperson Kush Desai said the president was “calling out the scam of unfettered birthright citizenship,” reported the New York Times.
Meanwhile, Iran’s embassy in India voiced its support for Delhi, posting on X: “Maybe someone should book a one-way cultural detox for Mr. #Trump, it might just reduce the random [nonsense].”
The controversy comes before a planned visit to India next month by US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who is expected to seek to ease recent strains between two countries that have typically maintained close ties.
The row centres on a long-running legal and political battle over the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which is widely understood to guarantee birthright citizenship. Mr Trump has repeatedly sought to end or narrow that right.
In January 2025, he signed an executive order directing federal agencies not to recognise citizenship in certain cases involving children born in the US to mothers in the country unlawfully or on temporary visas, where the father is neither a US citizen nor a green card holder. A green card is a US permanent residency document that allows a person to live and work in the country indefinitely.
The order was challenged by 22 states. A lower court temporarily blocked it three days later, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional”. The issue is now before the US Supreme Court. Trump attended a hearing in the case this month, becoming the first sitting US president to do so.
On social media that day, he wrote: “We are the only country in the world stupid enough to allow ‘birthright’ citizenship!”
Mr Trump’s post also prompted criticism in the US.
Congressman Ami Bera, the son of Indian immigrants, said the material shared by Trump was “offensive, ignorant and beneath the dignity of the office he holds”.
“They reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of who we are as a nation. America has always been strengthened by generations of immigrants who come here, work hard, and contribute to our country. They do not weaken America – they strengthen it.”
“President Trump, who was born into wealth and privilege, has never had to struggle the way so many immigrant families have,” he said.
Representative Grace Meng said she was “disgusted” by the post and warned that amplifying such language risked worsening hostility at a time when hate incidents affecting South Asian communities were rising.
The Hindu American Foundation said it was deeply disturbed by what it called a “hateful, racist screed”.
“Endorsing such rants as the president of the United States will further stoke hatred and endanger our communities, at a time when xenophobia and racism are already at an all-time high,” the group said.
India’s opposition Congress party also attacked prime minister Narendra Modi, urging him to formally protest to Mr Trump.
“Trump has repeatedly made insulting remarks about India, and Modi has remained silent,” the party said on X. It added: “Narendra Modi is a weak PM and the entire country is bearing the brunt of it.”
Mr Trump has maintained major tariffs on India for months and has criticised visa routes commonly used by Indian technology workers.
He was also angered after Mr Modi downplayed Mr Trump’s mediation during a conflict between India and Pakistan in May last year, after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in which 26 civilians were killed.
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