NEW DELHI: United States secretary of state Marco Rubio remarked that “every country has stupid people” while responding to a reporter’s question on recent instances of alleged racism towards Indians and Indian-Americans in the US.
Rubio was addressing a news briefing shortly after meeting external affairs minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi when a reporter asked for his view on what he called a growing intolerance, saying, “This goes against the premise of the US-India relationship.”
Seeking clarification, Rubio asked, “What comments? Who made those comments?”
The reporter replied, “We all have seen those comments. We have seen endorsement of those comments. It’s very well-known, sir.”
Responding to this, Rubio said, “I don’t know how to address that, but I’ll take it seriously about those comments. I am sure there are people who have made comments online and in other places too, because every country in the world has stupid people. I am sure there are stupid people here (in India), and there are people in the United States who make dumb comments all the time.”
Rubio reiterated the “welcoming” nature of the United States, calling it a country “enriched by people who come from all over the world, become Americans and assimilate into our way of life.”
“That’s all I can comment regarding your question,” he added.
The reporter’s question points to the recent controversy over comments amplified by US President Donald Trump that referred to India as a “hellhole”.
Last month, Trump reposted a transcript from conservative radio host Michael Savage criticising birthright citizenship in the US, in which immigrants from “China or India or some other hellhole on the planet” were mentioned.
The ministry of external affairs termed the remarks “uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste”, while several lawmakers and advocacy groups in the US also condemned them as racist.
Rubio’s visit is aimed at shoring up relations battered by Washington’s tariffs and engagement with New Delhi’s rivals, Pakistan and China, especially given Trump’s proximity to Islamabad’s top man, field marshal Asim Munir.
Agencies