The BRICS TimesWhen Donald Trump shared a letter calling India and China “hellholes,” it ignited a sharp geopolitical backlash. Iran’s consulate fired back, defending both ancient civilisations, while India’s foreign ministry offered a careful non-response. The episode has exposed deep cracks in Trump’s diplomatic approach toward two of America’s most strategically important partners.
The post that lit the fire
On April 22, US President Donald Trump reposted a letter on his Truth Social platform. The letter came from conservative radio host Michael Savage’s podcast, Savage Nation. Savage wrote the letter in reaction to the ongoing Supreme Court arguments over birthright citizenship. He directed his words at a Chinese-American ACLU attorney arguing in favour of birthright citizenship.
The letter read: “A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring in their entire family from China, or India, or some other hell-hole on the planet. You don’t have to go too far to see that. English is not spoken here anymore. That there’s almost no loyalty to this country amongst the immigrant class coming in today, which was not always the case.”
The letter also argued that European immigrants the Irish, Italians, Polish, Lithuanians, Romanians and Russians assimilated successfully. However, it claimed that today’s immigrant class does not. Trump promoted this letter without distancing himself from any part of it.
Iran turns the tables sharply
Within hours, Iran’s Consulate General in Hyderabad entered the conversation. In a pointed post on X, it defended India and China with unmistakable clarity. “China and India are the cradles of civilisation. In fact, the hellhole is where its war-criminal president threatened to decimate the civilisation in Iran,” the consulate wrote.
This was a direct reference to Trump’s earlier warning to Iran. He had told Tehran that its “whole civilisation would die” if it refused to comply with his nuclear demands. Iran was not just defending India and China. It was seizing a moment to strike back at Trump.
In another post, the Iranian consulate called Trump’s remark an expression of pure racism. “Every day, with a new post, Trump’s inhumanity proves to be beyond infinity. This is racism itself,” it said.
Iran’s response carries diplomatic weight. India and China are among the world’s oldest continuous civilisations, with histories stretching back more than 4,000 years. The United States, by contrast, is a 250-year-old nation. The contrast was not lost on anyone watching.
India’s foreign ministry plays it carefully
New Delhi chose restraint over confrontation. When asked about the remarks, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal gave a brief and non-committal response. “We have seen some reports. That’s where I will leave it,” he said.
This kind of careful diplomatic silence tells its own story. India-US relations are at a delicate crossroads. Trade tensions, tariff disputes, and ongoing negotiations mean New Delhi cannot afford an open confrontation with Washington. Yet ignoring the remark entirely was also not possible.
A 30-year friendship tested in public
The episode has not gone unnoticed within American political circles either. Rahm Emanuel, former US ambassador to Japan and a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, used unusually direct language to condemn the administration’s posture. He spoke at Harvard’s Kennedy School.
“America has literally spit in India’s face under the Trump administration. Bringing India closer to the US has been a 30-year project for every US president. I would not do what Trump has done,” Emanuel said.
Emanuel’s statement points to a deeper concern in Washington’s foreign policy establishment. Decades of careful relationship-building with India a nation now crucial to US strategy in Asia risk coming apart through careless rhetoric.
Damage control from the American side
Even as the controversy grew, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor moved quickly to soften the blow. He said he had discussed the “strong future of India-US ties” during a dinner with Trump. He also mentioned a “productive meeting with Secretary Howard Lutnick on the US-India commercial roadmap.”
Diplomatic reassurances, however, come with limits. Words from an ambassador rarely erase the impact of words from a president.
Why this matters beyond the headlines
The “hellhole” controversy is more than an isolated social media moment. It reflects a pattern of rhetoric from Trump’s political allies that bundles immigrants from Asia into a narrative of cultural disloyalty. The letter Trump reposted drew a sharp line: European immigrants built America, while today’s newcomers particularly from Asia do not belong.
For India, this is especially jarring. Indian-Americans are among the highest-earning and most educated immigrant groups in the United States. They lead major American corporations and contribute billions to the US economy. Calling their countries of origin “hellholes” is not simply offensive. It fundamentally misrepresents the reality of the Indian diaspora’s contribution.
For China, already locked in an intense trade war with the US, the remark adds another layer of tension to an already strained relationship.
Iran’s intervention, though motivated by its own conflict with Washington, inadvertently gave voice to what many governments were thinking but not saying aloud.
