The Congress on Thursday said it was “extremely insulting and anti-India” that United States President Donald Trump had shared on social media remarks made by an American political commentator that described India as being among “hellhole” countries.
The Opposition party also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take up the matter with the US president.
“However, given his track record so far, it cannot be expected that he will say anything in front of Trump,” said the party.
Meanwhile, in response to a question about Trump’s post, the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “We have seen some reports. That’s where I leave it.”
On Wednesday, Trump shared on social media the transcript of comments made by Michael Savage, an American political commentator, about ending birthright citizenship in the US.
“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,” Savage claimed. “You don’t have to go far to see that. English is not spoken here anymore.”
Sharing the comments on social media, the Congress alleged that Trump “has repeatedly made insulting remarks about India, and Modi has remained silent”.
“Narendra Modi is a weak prime minister, and the entire country is bearing the brunt of it,” said the party.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge asked Modi what he “was so scared of” and questioned why the prime minister has stayed silent on “these ridiculous utterances”.
He added that Indians have played a vital role in America’s success and asked what was stopping New Delhi from raising the matter at the “highest levels of the American government”.
“Amid the high-voltage election campaign of the prime minister, I sincerely hope that he gets sometime to react to this intimidation and indignation of 140 crore Indians,” Kharge added.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate questioned how Trump could make such statements and criticised the “pin drop silence” from the Modi-led government so far.
Her party colleague Shama Mohamed said that Modi would “not utter a single word against his ‘dear friend’”.
“He can only show his power against the opposition in India,” she added.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra asked the prime minister whether he was going to express his protest.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia criticised Trump and said insulting India “may win you headlines”, but the country “does not need your approval”.
“A nation of 1.4 billion people with dignity, talent, and civilizational depth will not be defined by your rhetoric,” Sisodia said, adding that Trump’s comments only exposed the US president’s “ignorance and hollow arrogance”.
Trump has long been a proponent of ending birthright citizenship in the US. In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order to stop automatically granting citizenship to those born in the US in specific scenarios.
Legal consensus, however, broadly holds that the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees birthright citizenship. The matter is being heard by the Supreme Court.
In his arguments, Savage said that a referendum must be held to determine if birthright citizenship should continue.
“Our nation is being overrun with Chinese coming here just to drop a baby on our shore then bring in the entire family,” he said. “How about some common sense in a bankrupt nation?”
Also read: India is a ‘hellhole’: Trump shares commentator’s views questioning US birthright citizenship
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