Secretary of State Marco Rubio is under pressure to clean up remarks that throw his boss under the bus.
Rubio’s recent four-day trip was supposed to bolster trust between India and the U.S.
Two days in, he was trying to restore his loyalty to President Donald Trump.
The mess Rubio stepped into was so big that not even the Department of State could erase it from the public’s view before critics connected the dots.
This time, a crystal football gift exchange won’t undo the damage.
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The former Florida senator recently spoke at a joint press conference in New Delhi on May 24 with Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar when a Trump controversy resurfaced.
A reporter began to ask Rubio about “a lot of racist comments coming from the U.S.”
The secretary interjected, asking, “Who made those comments?”
The reporter responded, “We all have seen those comments, sir. We have seen endorsement of those comments.”
Rubio defended both America and Trump over the controversy, which many assumed stemmed from a Truth Social post the president reshared.
The message about birthright citizenship stated, “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.”
Sidhant Sibal of WIONews, the reporter later clarified that clarified on X that he had been referring specifically to Trump sharing a post that described India as a “hellhole.”
India calls America out for Trump’s racist comments and Rubio calls Americans stupid.
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) May 25, 2026
President Trump amplified a post last month referring to India as a “hellhole.” So when Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited New Delhi, he was confronted directly about remarks viewed as… pic.twitter.com/Q26k6a9iDg
Rubio acted oblivious to the controversy. But social media was not.
According to an IG Threads user, “The entire administration acts like they’ve never seen Trump’s truth social posts.”
Despite the criticism, Rubio tried to brush off the backlash altogether while defending the administration’s handling of the situation.
“Look, I’m sure that there are people that have made comments online and other places because every country in the world has stupid people. I’m sure there’s stupid people here,” said Rubio.
He continued, “There’s stupid people in the United States that make dumb comments all the time. I don’t know what else to tell you other than the United States is a very welcoming country. Our nation has been enriched by people who come to our country…have become Americans.”
The viral exchange created a firestorm of reactions on social media.
One person commented, “That reporter knew exactly what he was doing by not stating that Trump was the one who said it. Beautifully laid trap.” Another said, “The reporter cooked Rubio. Calling Trump stupid indirectly.”
A consensus shared by X users reads, “Rubio’s defense of Trump was to call him stupid? Priceless.” Another read, “Rubio is in trouble now.”
“Wow … That’s a rare moment of unfiltered honesty from Little Marco there!”
The State Department thought Rubio successfully ripped detractors with his words. Their post was after realizing Trump was the implicated “racist.”
A critic tweeted, “Rubio can make a mistake but state dept tweeting it endorses the fact that everyone in this administration secretly calls Trump and his family stupid.”
Another said, “Omg hahahahha.”
U.S. Journalist: You were asked by an Indian reporter about racist remarks against Indians
— Shashank Mattoo (@MattooShashank) May 25, 2026
Rubio: I don’t know who he was talking about
Journalist: Didn’t Trump call India a hellhole? pic.twitter.com/XOr2yvuk6j
Rubio tried to deflect from Trump’s “hellhole” debacle in a separate Q&A.
“I don’t know who he was talking about, but I figured, I assumed that he was talking about people posting stuff online,” he said.
“The president’s a big fan of India, a big fan of Prime Minister Modi… I just assumed he’s talking about random voices out there. I mean, people say stupid stuff all the time on social media in every country in the world, unfortunately.”
Hecklers joked that Rubio was switching sides on Trump during a recent trip to China. Cameras caught Rubio staring in awe at the interior of the Great Hall of the People. The visit ended with Trump requesting Chinese roses to beautify the White House.
