On 22/4, former US President Donald Trump re-shared a 4-page transcript of Michael Savage's podcast on Truth Social. Savage, a conservative political commentator, criticized birthright citizenship in the US. Trump offered no additional comments, only attaching a video of the Savage Nation program aired on NEWSMAX.

The podcast primarily targeted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) but also contained accusations against immigrants, including those from India, claiming they prefer not to hire Americans and lack English proficiency.

The most controversial part of the transcript was Savage's statement: "A child born here immediately becomes a citizen, and then they bring the entire family from China or India or some other hell on earth on this planet here."

US President Donald Trump speaks in Phoenix, Arizona on 17/4. *AP*.

Trump's post immediately drew strong backlash from many individuals and organizations in both the US and India. Indian-American Congressman Ami Bera called Trump's sharing of Savage's comments "insulting, ignorant, and unbecoming of the office".

The Hindu American Foundation expressed being "appalled by the hateful and racist content" targeting people of Indian and Chinese descent that President Trump re-shared on his personal account. The organization warned that this action could escalate animosity in US society, which is already at an "all-time high".

"President Trump needs to reconsider, delete the post, and acknowledge the undeniable contributions of the Asian American community to this country", the Hindu American Foundation urged.

The Indian National Congress (INC) party posted a rebuttal on X, stating that Trump's sharing was "deeply insulting and anti-India" and called for a strong government response. INC leader Supriya Srinate objected to India being called "hell on earth", as well as the former US President's past references to Indian people as "laptop gangsters" in arguments submitted to the US Supreme Court regarding the abolition of birthright citizenship in the US.

Michael Savage, an 84-year-old conservative political commentator in the US. *Spokesman-Review*.

India's Ministry of External Affairs commented on the controversial remarks on 23/4 but did not directly refer to President Trump. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that comments about Indians in the US were "clearly ignorant, inappropriate, and objectionable".

"These comments do not reflect the reality of India-US relations, which have long been based on mutual respect and shared interests", Jaiswal said.

Meanwhile, the US Embassy in New Delhi issued a message on the same day, affirming that US leaders always view India as "a great country and has a very good friend as its leader", referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

By Thanh Danh (AFP, NDTV, Hindustan Times)