US Moves To Contain Fallout After Trump’s ‘Hellhole’ Post On India Sparks Outrage

NEW DELHI – Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump shared content that described India as a “hellhole,” the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi issued a statement highlighting Washington’s ties with India and Trump’s positive remarks about the country.

“The President has said ‘India is a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top,’” a U.S. Embassy spokesperson said, according to the original report.

India responded cautiously. Asked about the controversy, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said: “We’ve seen some reports. That’s where I’ll leave it.”

The controversy began after Trump reposted material from conservative American radio host Michael Savage and his podcast ‘Savage Nation’, where Savage criticized birthright citizenship in the United States and referred to India and China in derogatory terms.

“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,” Savage said in the podcast excerpt shared by Trump.

The accompanying text also used inflammatory language about Indian and Chinese immigrants and accused them of exploiting public services such as healthcare and welfare.

The repost came as Trump continues a legal fight over birthright citizenship. Soon after taking office last year, he signed an executive order aimed at ending automatic citizenship for some children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily.