Marco Rubio's Office Deletes "Stupid People" Post After Racism Remarks Spark Buzz

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in India for a four-day visit, landed himself in a bit of a soup when he claimed racist comments against Indians as coming from "stupid people" in America. The remarks, made during a press conference in New Delhi, were posted on the US State Department's official social media channels. 

Interestingly, the US State Department posted Rubio's remarks in response to the racism question, along with other comments on 'X'. But hours later, as the video started going viral, the State Department deleted the question.

Photo Credit: US State Department/ X

Read: "There's Hot, Then There's This Hot": Top US Diplomat On Delhi Heat

What Rubio Said

During a joint press conference with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, a reporter asked Rubio, "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 responded by saying, "We all have seen those comments. We've seen endorsement of those comments."

Responding to the query, Rubio said he takes such racist remarks very seriously.

"I'll take that very seriously about the comments. I'm sure that there are people who have made comments online and in 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 said.

"Our nation has been enriched by people who have come to our country from all over the world, become Americans, assimilated into our way of life, and contributed greatly," he added.

Read: India, US Sign Critical Minerals Pact As Marco Rubio Wraps Up Delhi Visit

The 'Hell-Hole' Controversy 

Though the reporter did not clarify, many saw his question as a reference to President Trump's recent endorsement of racist remarks made by American podcaster and radio host Michael Savage, who referred to India, China and some other countries as "hell-holes".

The radio host attacked the idea of automatic citizenship for children born in the US to non-citizens, calling for a national referendum instead of leaving it to the courts.

India calls America out for Trump's racist comments

President Trump amplified a post last month referring to India as a “hellhole.”

Rubio responded: “Every country in the world has stupid people who say dumb things.”indirectly characterize Trump's comments as “dumb.”😄😄😄 pic.twitter.com/ZM9B0ogCEc

— Ashley Patel (@AshleyP22343890) May 26, 2026

"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," he wrote in the letter.

The letter also describes Indian and Chinese immigrants as "gangsters with laptops" who have "stepped on our flag".

Read: After Taj Mahal, US Secretary Marco Rubio Visits Jaipur's Amer Fort With Wife, Ambassador Sergio Gor

The American Coverup

As his comments gained traction on social media, Rubio sought to dismiss allegations of rising anti-India rhetoric in the US and claimed Trump is a big fan of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During another media briefing the next day, Rubio said, "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."

The Secretary of State said this when a journalist asked about the controversy and suggested that perhaps the reporter earlier was referring to the controversial post against Indians shared by Trump.

Rubio said he specifically asked the reporter who he was referring to, but he did not respond.

"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 thought the reporter was referring to comments by people online.