The Ministry of External Affairs slammed Donald Trump’s ‘hellhole’ remark, calling it uninformed and inappropriate. Scroll down for details.
Published: April 23, 2026 11:02 PM IST
India-US Relations: The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday criticised the controversial remark of US President Donald Trump for referring to India as a “hellhole”. The ministry called Trump’s remark “uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste”. It further stated that such comments do not reflect the reality of the India-US relations, which have been developed on mutual respect and shared interests.
How did the controversy begin?
The controversy began when US President Donald Trump shared a transcript from a talk show. The show was hosted by conservative commentator Michael Savage. The discussion highlighted the criticism of Savage for the immigration policies and called the two countries, India and China, “hellholes”.
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MEA criticises ‘hellhole’ comment
The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, mentioned that India has taken note of Trump’s initial comment along with the clarification issued by the US Embassy.
“We have seen the comments… The remarks are obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste. They certainly do not reflect the reality of the India-US relationship,” said Jaiswal while responding to the media queries.
US Embassy tries to control damage
After the backlash emerged, the US Embassy in New Delhi attempted to ease the escalating tensions and tried to control the damage caused by President Donald Trump. The spokesperson Christopher Elm emphasised the positive remarks about India and the prime minister Narendra Modi given by Trump earlier, as reported by IANS.
“India is a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top and he’s just done a fantastic job. I think Pakistan and India are going to live very nicely together,” Trump had said earlier.
Iran’s befitting reply to Trump’s comment
Iranian Embassy in Hyderabad also gave a response to Trump’s comment. It wrote, “China and India are the cradles of Civilization. In fact, the #hellhole is where its war-criminal president threatened to decimate the civilization in Iran.”
The statement also highlights that India and China represent some of the oldest and richest civilisations in the world.
China and India are the cradles of Civilization. In fact, the #hellhole is where its war-criminal president threatened to decimate the civilization in Iran.
— Iran In Hyderabad (@IraninHyderabad) April 23, 2026
