Rubio clarifies 'stupid people' remark on WION's racism question, says 'Trump loves India'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has clarified his previous remark on racism against Indians in United States and said that he did not understand whom the question referred to and highlighted US President Donald Trump's closeness to India. On his way to Agra on Monday (May 25), Rubio was once again quizzed by Indian reporters about his remark on racism that he said while responding to a question by WION's Sidhant Sibal. This morning, the US Secretary of State seemed walking back on his previous comments, and instead saying that President loves India and is a big fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When the reporters specified that Sibal might have been referring to the ‘hellhole’ remark by Trump.

During the joint presser in New Delhi with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on May 24, WION's Sidhant Sibal asked Secretary Rubio about racist remarks. Responding to the question, Rubio initially appeared cautious and said that such remarks were made by “stupid people” and did not represent the broader American society. “I’m sure that there are people that have made comments online and other places, because every country in the world has stupid people,” Rubio said. “I’m sure there’s stupid people here. There are stupid people in the United States that make dumb comments all the time,” he added. WATCH here

Trump in April 2026 shared a four-page transcript of remarks made by podcaster Michael Savage on America's birthright citizenship where he accused people from India and China of abusing the privilege. "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 transcript documents Savage as saying. This was shared by Trump on his Truth Social post. HERE'S THE TRUTH SOCIAL POST

Rubio said that he had given the reporter a chance to specify who he was talking about but he didn't say anything. He went on to state that people say stupid stuff all the time on social media in every country. "...The bottom line is that in the modern era, you go online, and there are people saying all kinds of crazy stuff online. I don't even know if they're real people or who they are, so...The President loves India. The President is a big fan of India, a big fan of Prime Minister Modi. I wouldn't be here if the President didn't want me to be here. He wouldn't have sent someone like Sergio to be our ambassador, someone who's very close to the President...I mean, people say stupid stuff all the time on social media and in every country in the world, unfortunately" WATCH HERE

Later on May 24, the US State Department deleted a social media post featuring the racist question from WION targeting Indians and Indian-Americans in the United States. The State Department post before deletion read: “REPORTER: There’s been a lot of racism coming from the US against Indians. What’s your response? SECRETARY RUBIO: I’m sure there are people who have made dumb comments because every country has stupid people. I’m sure there are stupid people here. I don’t know what else to tell you other than that the US is a very welcoming country. Our nation has been enriched by people who come to our country and become Americans, have assimilated into our way of life, and have contributed greatly.”

Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded in a statement: “We have seen the comments, as also the subsequent statement issued by the US Embassy in response.

“The remarks are obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste. They certainly do not reflect the reality of the India-US relationship, which has long been based on mutual respect and shared interests," he had said.

The US Embassy in New Delhi quickly clarified that US President Donald Trump considers India a "great country" led by a "very good friend," attempting to mitigate the diplomatic fallout.