On Wednesday, April 22, 2026, Donald Trump posted a four-page transcription of remarks by rightwing podcast host Michael Savage on Truth Social, along with a video of Savage delivering them. The remarks attacked the Fourteenth Amendment's birthright citizenship guarantee and, without evidence, accused Indian immigrants in the U.S. tech industry of refusing to hire native-born Americans. They falsely alleged Indian immigrants lacked English proficiency.
The line that drew the diplomatic response: “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 Indian Ministry of External Affairs issued a formal condemnation the following day. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal: the post was “obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste” and “they certainly do not reflect the reality of the India-US relationship, which has long been based on mutual respect and shared interests.” India's main opposition National Congress called the remarks “extremely insulting and anti-Indian.”
The Hindu American Foundation responded on X: “Endorsing such rants as the president of the United States will further stoke hatred and endanger our communities, at a time when xenophobia and racism are already at an all-time high.” Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA), whose parents are Indian immigrants, called the post “offensive, ignorant and beneath the dignity of the office he holds” and added: “President Trump, who was born into wealth and privilege, has never had to struggle the way so many immigrant families have.”
The timing matters. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit India next month to ease tensions that have soured the U.S.-India relationship under Trump. Trump imposed some of his highest tariffs on India, allegedly over India's continued purchase of Russian oil. He has also publicly fumed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi downplayed Trump's claimed mediation role during a recent India-Pakistan conflict.
The broader policy frame: Trump's post explicitly targets the H-1B visa category used heavily by Indian tech workers — a category his administration has already moved to restrict. The post uses the birthright-citizenship attack as a rhetorical stepping stone to broader immigration restriction, directly advancing a policy priority by denigrating the population it affects.