'Every country has stupid people': Marco Rubio addresses racism against Indians in America

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently in India for a four-day official visit from May 23 to May 26, 2026. His multicity tour includes stops at Kolkata, New Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. At a press meet in Delhi, Rubio was asked about the racist remarks from the US against Indians.

He defended the US over racist comments against Indians at his joint press conference with India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi. When asked by Rubio pointedly, “Who made those comments?”, the reporter from a TV channel did not name specify but noted that such a post had been “endorsed” and “we all have seen it”.



“I don't know how to address that, but I'll take that very seriously,” said Rubio. “I'm sure that there are people who have made comments online and other places, because every country in the world has stupid people. I'm sure [there are] stupid people here; there are stupid people in the United States, who make dumb comments all the time," he added.

Highlighting the contribution of the immigrant population in the country, he further said as per ANI that "I don't know what else to tell you, other than the United States is a very welcoming country."

He then said, “Our nation has been enriched by people who come to our country, have come from our country, from all over the world, have become Americans, have assimilated into our way of life, and it's contributing.”

Acknowledging the role of the Indian community in the country, Rubio said "I accept what you just said about the contribution that Indians have made in the US economy, over USD 20 billion... We want that number to continue to increase."

The US State Department had shared the question and Rubio's response to it in a post on the social media platform X on Sunday, but later deleted it. The post referred to Rubio was the one made by US President Donald Trump who called India a "hellhole" but later clarified the situation by praising the country and PM Narendra Modi.

Social media reactions

Rubio's response received mixed reactions from social media users, with some calling him diplomatic and others aligning with his views.

"Rubio is probably the best of the Trump 2.0, especially since the rest of that administration is a proper clown car. He's articulate & diplomatic enough. However, it won't be enough to repair the US image in India, because we have seen how Trump himself talks about India & Indians!" wrote one user.

"Every country has stupid people”, — Marco Rubio accidentally gave the most honest summary of global politics while defending racism in America," added another.

"Marco Rubio is a smart man. He knows the path to take after 2028, and to do so, he will have to bridge the gap between the US and India. Rubio is paving his way for the post-2028 path by building consensus on the right path," shared one.

"This is exactly the right answer. Everyone knows that America is not racist. How would you explain people clamoring to get in if it were so? Democrats use one-off examples, propped up by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to keep racism alive for their political purposes," a user defended.