India on Thursday criticised as inappropriate a post by US President Donald Trump that called the South Asian country a “hellhole.”
The comments come ahead of a planned visit next month to India by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who would seek to turn the page on recent tensions between the normally friendly powers.
Trump late Wednesday posted on social media a screed apparently written by someone else denouncing the US constitutional right to citizenship of everyone born in the country.
The post accused Indian immigrants in the tech industry of not hiring white native-born Americans and inaccurately alleged that Indian immigrants lack English proficiency.
“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,” the post said.
The Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, responded that the remarks were “obviously uninformed, inappropriate, and in poor taste.”
He added, “They certainly do not reflect the reality of the India–US relationship, which has long been based on mutual respect and shared interests.”
Congressman Ami Bera, a Democrat who is the children of Indian immigrants, called the post by Trump “offensive, ignorant and beneath the dignity of the office he holds.”
“President Trump, who was born into wealth and privilege, has never had to struggle the way so many immigrant families have,” he said.
The Hindu American Foundation, an advocacy group, said it was disturbed by the “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,” it wrote on X.
Trump, who has made a sweeping crackdown on immigration a signature policy, has taken aim at visas commonly used by Indian tech workers.
He also for months maintained major tariffs on India after he was angry that Prime Minister Narendra Modi downplayed his mediation during a conflict between Pakistan and India.
Trump’s sparring with India stands in contrast to decades of efforts by successive US presidents to avoid friction and build relations with the world’s largest democracy, which US policymakers have seen as a counterweight to rival China.