How India reacted to Trump's 'hellhole on planet' remark
India said it had seen reports of US President Donald Trump, who amplified a post calling India and China as "hellholes"but stopped short of criticising the American leader.
India on Thursday offered a guarded response to US President Donald Trump, who amplified a post that referred to the country as a "hellhole", but stopped short of criticising the American leader.
Responding to questions about the controversy, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We’ve seen some reports. That’s where I’ll leave it.”
Hours after Trump's remarks, a US Embassy spokesperson went on damage control mode and said the US President described “India as a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top”, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Later, the MEA issued a statement lashing out at Trump for endorsing the 'hellhole' post, saying such remarks were "uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste", and that they did not reflect the true nature of bilateral ties.
HOW DID THE CONTROVERSY ERUPTED?
The controversy erupted after Trump, on Truth Social, reposted content from conservative radio host Michael Savage, whose remarks referred to countries, including India and China, among “hellholes on the planet”, while criticising birthright citizenship in the US.
On his Savage Nation podcast, Savage argued against the Citizenship Clause, which grants citizenship to most children born on US soil, including those whose parents are undocumented or temporarily residing in the country. He claimed the policy is misused by immigrants from countries such as India and China.
In comments shared by Trump, Savage said that a child born in the US becomes an “instant citizen” and later enables family members from countries including India and China to immigrate.
“A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring in their entire family from China, or India or some other hellhole on the planet,” the letter stated.
Trump reposted both a transcript and video clip from the podcast, in which Savage criticised the role of the US Supreme Court in shaping birthright citizenship law and called for the issue to be decided through a national referendum.
The letter accompanying Savage's remarks went further, describing Indian and Chinese immigrants as "gangsters with laptops" who have "stepped on our flag".
Trump highlighted Savage’s remarks as he continues a legal battle over birthright citizenship. His administration is challenging lower court rulings that blocked an executive order aimed at limiting automatic citizenship for some US-born children.
The order, signed shortly after Trump returned to office in January 2025, targeted children born to parents living in the US illegally or temporarily. It triggered multiple legal challenges, with several courts blocking its implementation and at least one judge describing it as unconstitutional.
Responding to Trump's jibe, Iran defended India and China, describing both as “cradles of civilisation.” In a post on X, the Iranian Embassy in Hyderabad said, “China and India are the cradles of civilisation. In fact, the hellhole is where its war-criminal president threatened to decimate civilisation in Iran.”
The controversy unfolded alongside a fragile ceasefire involving Iran, extended by Trump earlier this week amid uncertainty over a second round of talks. Although hostilities have eased, Trump has said a US naval blockade around the Strait of Hormuz remains in effect – a move Tehran argues undermines the ceasefire’s intent.