Heated! Indonesia's Neighbour Furious at Being Called a "Hellhole" by Trump
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Indian government has officially condemned the actions of US President Donald Trump for sharing comments that labelled India a “hellhole” in relation to debates over birthright citizenship in the United States. The Indian government stressed that the statement is unfounded and inappropriate towards a strategic partner nation.
This condemnation stems from President Donald Trump posting a transcript of The Savage Nation radio show on his Truth Social account on Thursday (23/04/2026). In the post, conservative commentator Michael Savage made controversial statements regarding immigrants who automatically gain citizenship in Uncle Sam’s country.
“A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring their entire family from China or India or some other hellhole on this planet,” said Savage as written in the transcript shared by Trump.
Savage continued his comments by stating that current immigrants lack loyalty to the United States. Citing a Reuters report on Friday (24/04/2024), Savage compared the current group of immigrants to the ancestors of European-descended Americans.
“That there is almost no loyalty to this country among the class of immigrants entering today, which was not always the case in the past. No, they are not like current European-descended Americans and their ancestors,” said Savage in the excerpt of the transcript.
In response, India’s Ministry of External Affairs issued a strong reaction on Thursday evening. Spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, stated that the comments disseminated by Trump were highly offensive and did not reflect the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“The statement is clearly uninformed, inappropriate, and in poor taste,” Jaiswal emphasised in an official statement in New Delhi.
Furthermore, Jaiswal emphasised that referring to India as a bad place is completely at odds with the facts of the close bilateral cooperation that has long existed between Washington and New Delhi.
“The comments certainly do not reflect the reality of India-US relations, which have long been based on mutual respect and shared interests,” Jaiswal added.
On the other hand, the US Embassy in New Delhi attempted to ease tensions by quoting positive statements from the president in the past. The embassy side sought to remind of the personal closeness between the leaders of the two countries.
“The President has said ‘India is a great country with very good friends in top positions’,” a representative of the US Embassy stated in its official remarks.
However, this defence did not quell domestic criticism in India. The Congress Party, the main opposition in India, called this insult hurtful to the feelings of all Indians and urged the government to act more firmly.
“The ‘hellhole’ statement is highly insulting and anti-India. This hurts every Indian. Prime Minister Narendra Modi must discuss this issue with the US President and convey strong objections,” the Congress Party wrote via the social media platform X.
Meanwhile, this diplomatic tension arises amid Donald Trump’s efforts to limit birthright citizenship rights in the US. That policy is currently being challenged in the US Supreme Court, where Trump attended a historic hearing on the issue earlier this month.
Data from the Indian government shows that there are nearly 5.5 million people of Indian descent living in the United States, making it one of the largest ethnic groups alongside those of Chinese descent.
Although the relationship between Trump and Modi warmed during his first term, relations between the two countries cooled last year due to trade tariff disputes before finally improving again through negotiations on a new trade deal this year.