The United States Secretary of State Marco Rub, who is on his maiden visit to India for the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting, sparked buzz for his answer to WIONews question over rising racist remarks towards Indians in the US and its endorsements.
Earlier , Rubio, en route to Agra’s Taj Mahal, Rubio clarified his May 24 remarks about racism against Indians in the United States, saying he did not fully understand to whom the question referred to.
Responding to a journalist’s question on his way to Agra on Monday, Rubio highlighted the close relationship between US President Donald Trump and India.
The Secretary of State appeared to walk back his previous statement, instead emphasising that President Trump loves India and is a strong admirer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When reporters pointed out that the original question likely referred to President Trump’s ‘hellhole’ remark, Rubio responded accordingly.
On Sunday, May 24, during a joint press briefing with his Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded to a question by Sidhant Sibal from WIONews.
Rubio initially appeared confused before saying that such remarks came from “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.
Trump’s ‘hellhole’ remark for Indians
In April 2026, US President Donald Trump shared a four-page transcript of remarks made by American podcaster Michael Savage criticising the United States’ birthright citizenship policy.
Savage accused people from India and China of abusing the system.
“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 quoted Savage as saying.
Trump endorsed the remarks by sharing the transcript on his Truth Social platform.
Rubio clarifies ‘stupid people’ remark
US Secretary of State’s remarks immediately went viral for clubbing Trump with ‘stupid people’, sparking buzz around social media. The US Department of State even posted the remarks on its X account, but later deleted the post.
On Monday, on his way to Agra, Marco Rubio clarified the remarks he had made, saying he had given the reporter an opportunity to clarify exactly who he was referring to, but the reporter did not specify.
He added that people say stupid things 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,” Rubio said.
“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.”
The US Embassy in India’s response in April
In April 2026, after the US President’s endorsement of the ‘hellhole’ remark for Indians, the US Embassy in India clarified quickly that India is a “great country” led by a “very good friend.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs said, “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,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
