Congressman Shashi Tharoor on Friday commented on statements linked to US President Donald Trump’s post referring to India and other countries as “hell”.
“India should not react angrily to something as trivial as Trump’s social media post. It does not befit our style of diplomacy. If I were the government of India, I would ignore it,” Shashi Tharoor told France 24.
The comments came after Trump shared a transcript of a conservative political talk show hosted by Michael Savage.
Read also | ‘China, India or some other hell hole’: Trump shares post about US birthright citizenship
What were Trump’s statements?
In the discussion, India, China and other countries were described as “hell,” along with allegations about immigrants traveling to the United States in late pregnancy to secure citizenship for their children.
“A child here becomes a citizen immediately, and then they bring the whole family from China or India or anywhere else on the planet. You don’t have to go far to see that. English is not spoken here anymore. There is almost no loyalty to this country among the immigrant class coming in today, which has not always been the case.”
The text also included sharp criticism of lawyers associated with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who were described as “gangsters with laptops” and accused of “doing more harm to the nation than all the Mafia families combined.”
“They robbed us, blinded us, treated us like second-class citizens, let the scumbags of the world win, trampled on our flag, etc,” she added, using wordplay to denigrate areas of the world referred to as the “Third World.”
Furthermore, an attorney associated with the American Civil Liberties Union was criticized and accused of misrepresenting cases during arguments before the US Supreme Court.
Read also | “Cradle of Civilization”: Iran defends India and China after Trump’s “hell” post.
India’s response to Trump’s tweet
India has officially responded to the controversy, with the Ministry of External Affairs denouncing the language used in the shared content.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the remarks were “clearly ill-considered, inappropriate and in poor taste,” adding that they do not reflect the reality of Indo-US relations based on mutual respect and common interests. Trump was not directly criticized.
This incident comes at a sensitive time in bilateral relations, as Washington and New Delhi are working to reset relations after a period of tension due to tariffs and geopolitical differences.
Talks are currently underway to finalize a trade agreement, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to visit next month.
