Raja Krishnamurthy and Pramila Jayapal
Indian American lawmakers and advocacy groups have criticized US President Donald Trump after he shared a social media post that used derogatory language towards Indian and Chinese people, calling it racist and dangerous at a time when anti-Asian hatred is on the rise in the US.The backlash followed Congressman Raja Krishnamurthy introducing a House resolution along with Congressmen Ted Lieu and Pramila Jayapal, condemning Trump’s amplification of a post by conservative radio host Michael Savage on Truth Social on April 22.According to lawmakers, the post attacked birthright citizenship while questioning the loyalty of immigrants and invoking stereotypes targeting American Indians and Chinese Americans. The resolution says such rhetoric reinforces bias and discrimination against Asian communities in the United States.The controversy erupted after Trump retweeted a message on Truth Social from conservative radio host Michael Savage during a debate on birthright citizenship.
The post referred to countries like India and China as “hell” and questioned the loyalty of immigrants, sparking anger among the American Indian and Chinese American communities. One of the most criticized statements said: “A child here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring the whole family over from China or India or any other hellhole on the planet.
““When President Trump amplifies his racist rhetoric targeting Indian Americans and Chinese Americans, he is sending a dangerous message at a time when both communities are already facing hatred and discrimination.
“The president of the United States should condemn racism, not inflame it,” Krishnamurthy said.“For generations, Indian Americans and Chinese Americans have strengthened our communities, grown our economy, served our nation in uniform, and helped advance America’s promise. The president of the United States must respect those contributions and recognize that the people they have demonized are Americans just like him,” he added.Liu immigrated to the United States as a child, and said that Asian Americans have historically been treated as outsiders despite their contributions to the country.“From the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II to a president amplifying claims that Indian and Chinese immigrants had ‘no loyalty’ to this country, the message was too often the same: Asian Americans were treated as perpetual foreigners, no matter where we were born, how long we lived here, or how profound our contribution to this nation was,” he said.He added: “I came to the United States when I was three years old and dedicated my life to serving my community and my country. Racist, xenophobic rhetoric has no place in America. Immigrants strengthen this nation every day, and no amount of hate speech from a racist president will change that.”
Jayapal accused Trump and Republican leaders of using divisive rhetoric to distract from the economic concerns facing Americans.“Trump, his administration, and Republicans in Congress have turned toward racism and xenophobia as a way to distract from the fact that they are failing Americans, who cannot afford gas in their cars or food on their tables,” she said.“Disgusting hate speech like this being promoted by the President of the United States will only add fuel to the fire because anti-Asian hatred is already on the rise,” she added.The resolution was also supported by several advocacy organizations, including STOP AAPI Hate, Chinese for Affirmative Action, South Asian Network, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC.Community leaders warned that rhetoric targeting immigrants could have real-world consequences. Cynthia Choi, co-founder of STOP AAPI Hate, said Trump’s comments reinforced the idea that Asian Americans are “perpetual foreigners.”She added: “And when he mentions Chinese and Indian immigrants, he puts all Asian Americans at risk regardless of their immigration status. Make no mistake, this is not about national security. It is not about politics at all. It is racism and xenophobia masquerading as law, and we refuse to allow it to continue.”