New Delhi – India has rejected as “uninformed” comments shared by United States President Donald Trump describing the country as a “hellhole,” saying the remarks were inappropriate and inconsistent with the strong relationship between the two nations.
The comments were originally made by conservative commentator Michael Savage during an episode of The Savage Nation talk radio show. Trump posted a transcript of the show on his Truth Social account on Thursday without adding any remarks of his own.
“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,” Savage said, according to the transcript. 
“There’s almost no loyalty to this country amongst the immigrant class coming in today, which was not always the case. No, they’re not like the European Americans of today and their ancestors,” Savage added.
The comments came in the context of Trump’s ongoing push to restrict birthright citizenship in the United States, a directive that has since been challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court. Earlier this month, Trump attended a hearing on the matter in a historic visit to the court.
India’s foreign ministry reacted strongly late on Thursday.
“The remarks are obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste,” 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 U.S. embassy in New Delhi sought to soften the blow, saying: “The president has said ‘India is a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top’.”
India’s main opposition Congress party was far less measured, calling the remark “extremely insulting and anti-India. It hurts every Indian.” The party called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take the matter up directly with Trump and “register a strong objection.”
China’s foreign ministry had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publishing.
Government data shows nearly 5.5 million people of Indian origin live in the United States, making Indian Americans and Chinese Americans the two largest groups of Asian origin in the country.
Trump and Modi shared warm ties during Trump’s first term, though relations cooled after India was hit with some of the highest U.S. tariffs last year, many of which were later rolled back. The two countries are currently negotiating a trade deal aimed at preventing any renewed tariff increases and boosting bilateral trade.
