Marco Rubio Says Trump Is ‘Big Fan Of India’, Dismisses Anti-India Rhetoric Concerns

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday said President Donald Trump was “a big fan of India” and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while dismissing concerns over alleged anti-India rhetoric in the United States.

The remarks came amid controversy over Rubio’s response to a journalist’s question on Sunday about racist comments allegedly directed at Indians and Indian-Americans in the US, according to PTI. Though the reporter did not specifically mention Trump, many saw the question as a reference to the US President’s earlier remarks describing India and China as “hellholes” while criticising birthright citizenship.

Rubio is on a four-day visit to India aimed at recalibrating bilateral ties that have faced headwinds since mid-last year, PTI reported. Addressing the issue on Monday, Rubio stressed that Trump remained supportive of India and its leadership.

“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 (Gor) to be our ambassador, someone who's very close to the President,” Rubio said.

According to PTI, Rubio said he had asked the journalist on Sunday whom he was referring to, but did not receive a direct answer.

“The bottom line is that in the modern era, you go online, and there are people saying all kinds of crazy stuff. I don't even know if they're real people or who they are,” he said.

Rubio indicated that he believed the reporter had been referring to comments circulating online. PTI reported that the US State Department initially posted Rubio’s response to the racism-related question on X along with other remarks, but later deleted the question from the post.

The exchange began when the reporter asked: “There have been a lot of racist comments coming from the United States against Indians, Indian-Americans. You know this goes against the basic premise of the India-US relationship. What's your take on that?”

When Rubio asked whom he was referring to, the reporter replied: “We all have seen those comments. We've seen endorsement of those comments.”

Rubio responded by saying that “every country has stupid people”.

(With inputs from PTI)