Former US President Donald Trump has once again come into the center of controversy. Recently, a video shared by Trump on social media not only created a stir internationally, but also created an uncomfortable situation for some time in the strong diplomatic relations between India and America. However, as soon as the controversy started escalating, the US Embassy immediately took charge and started damage control efforts. On behalf of the Embassy, quoting Trump, deep respect for India has been expressed.
What was the whole controversy and that ‘Hell’ video?
The controversy started when Donald Trump shared a video of a radical writer and radio host named Michael Savage on his social media platform ‘Truth Social’. In this video, Savage strongly criticized the birthright citizenship in America.
While speaking during the video, Savage used extremely derogatory words like ‘hellhole’ i.e. ‘hell-like place’ for countries like India and China. He alleged that foreign citizens take advantage of the loopholes in American laws and come to America in the last months of their pregnancy so that their unborn children can easily get citizenship there.
American Embassy presented clarification
As soon as this video hit the headlines, there was a huge outcry in the Indian community and diplomatic circles in America. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the US Embassy spokesperson issued an official statement. The spokesperson clarified that Donald Trump considers India a ‘great country’ and he has a very close and good friend in the top leadership of India. An attempt was made by the embassy to convey the message that the video shared by Trump may be the personal views of an author, but they do not at all reflect Trump’s real attitude towards India.
The steadfast stance of India’s Ministry of External Affairs
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has responded in a very measured and mature manner on this sensitive issue. When External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was asked a question about the video during his weekly press briefing, he gave a very brief answer. Jaiswal said, “We have seen some such reports and at this time we do not want to say anything more on this.” This calm stance of the Indian government shows that it wants to maintain diplomatic patience instead of being unnecessarily aggressive on such statements.
American justice system also targeted
In the video shared, Michael Savage’s target was not only India or China, but he also criticized the American justice system and the ‘American Civil Liberties Union’ (ACLU). Savage argued that under the cover of legal complications, the number of illegal immigrants in America is continuously increasing. He suggested that instead of court decisions on a serious constitutional issue like citizenship, a referendum (voting) should be conducted across the country. At present, efforts are being made to calm down this controversy after the cleaning of the American Embassy, but it has once again sparked a new debate on citizenship laws.
Comments are closed.