NEW DELHI, April 24 (Reuters) - India has dismissed as "uninformed" comments shared by U.S. President Donald Trump that described the country as a “hellhole”, saying they were inappropriate and inconsistent with the strong relationship between the two countries.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Trump participates in a healthcare affordability event at the White House in Washington
The comments were made by conservative commentator Michael Savage in an episode of The Savage Nation talk radio show. Trump posted a transcript of the show on his Truth Social account on Thursday without any comments.
“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 said, according to the transcript.
"That there's almost no loyalty to this country amongst the immigrant class coming in today, which was not always the case. No, they're not like the European Americans of today and their ancestors."
Reuters could not immediately contact Savage.
Trump has issued a directive seeking to restrict birthright citizenship in the United States, a move that has been challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court. Earlier this month, he attended a hearing on the issue in a historic visit to the court.
India's foreign ministry late on Thursday reacted strongly to the comments.
"The remarks are obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste," Indian foreign ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said in a statement.
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"They certainly do not reflect the reality of the India-US relationship, which has long been based on mutual respect and shared interests."
The U.S. embassy in New Delhi said: "The president has said 'India is a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top'."
China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
India's main opposition Congress party called the "hellhole" remark "extremely insulting and anti-India. It hurts every Indian".
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take up this matter with the U.S. President and register a strong objection," the party said on X.
Indian government data shows nearly 5.5 million people of Indian origin live in the United States. Indian Americans and Chinese Americans are the two biggest groups of Asian origin in the U.S.
Trump and Modi enjoyed warm ties during Trump’s first term, but relations cooled after India was hit last year with some of the highest U.S. tariffs, many of which were rolled back this year. India and the U.S. are now working on a trade deal aimed at preventing any renewed increase in tariffs and boosting sales to each other.
(Reporting by Saurabh Sharma and Krishna N. Das in New Delhi; Additional reporting by Joe Cash in Beijing; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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