Secretary of State Marco Rubio trashed “stupid people” who make “dumb comments” online when confronted Sunday on the India “hellhole” remarks shared by President Donald Trump via Truth Social in April during an awkward moment at a live presser in Delhi.

The exchange came as Rubio, who’s on a four-day visit to India, appeared with the country’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, after holding private talks.

After WIO News assistant editor Sidhant Sibal asked questions about technology and partnerships, he threw in a third about the “racist” comments.

“We have a lot of racist comments coming from the United States against Indians, Indian Americans,” Sibal said to Rubio. “This goes against the basic premise of the India-US relationship. What’s your take on that?”

Rubio appeared caught off guard, responding: “What’s your third question?”

“On Donald’s comments, racist comments coming from the U.S.,” Sibal repeated.

“Who made those comments? Which ones?” Rubio snapped back.

The controversy stems from April, when Trump shared a transcript on Truth Social of comments made by conservative podcaster Michael Savage during a discussion about birthright citizenship.

In the remarks, Savage accused immigrants from countries, including India and China, of exploiting the policy, saying: “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.”

Indian officials at the time condemned the reposted comments as “inappropriate” and “in poor taste.”

When the reporter replied that the comments were “pretty well-known,” Rubio pivoted to a broader defense.

“I don’t know how to address that, but I’ll take that very seriously, about the comments,” he said.

“Look, 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 continued.

Rubio added: “I don’t know what to tell you. The United States is a very welcoming country. Our nation has been enriched by people who have come to our country from all over the world, have become Americans, assimilated into our way of life, and contributed greatly. So that’s all I can comment on that.”

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