‘F**k you’: Ted Lieu blasts Trump after he shares post calling China, India ‘hellhole’

U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu strongly condemned President Donald Trump on Thursday, accusing him of being a “racist.” The President had shared the transcript of an episode of ‘The Savage Nation’ podcast hosted by Michael Savage. In the transcript, the transcript referred to China and India as ‘hellhole’ places, and that immigrants from such places had not ‘integrated’ into America as well as European Americans had. The post drew criticism from groups in the country and globally.

In an X post directed at the White House, Lieu wrote, “Please tell Donald Trump I said f**k you.” Lieu is not the only government official to have spoken out against the President about the matter. Rep. Ro Khanna did the same on X. He posed a question to Vice President JD Vance, asking if he had “any comment” about the transcript the President had shared. “Do you also think that India is a hellhole and Chinese or Indian immigrants denigrate America?” he asked.

Khanna is an Indian-American Representative, much like Ami Bera, who had a lot to say about President Trump’s post. Bera said that he had “great pride” in being the son of immigrants from India. He also claimed that he was a “product of the American Dream.” The California Representative said that President Trump was born into wealth and did not understand the “grit, sacrifice, and determination it takes to build a life from the ground up.”

“The comments shared by President Trump are offensive, ignorant, and beneath the dignity of the office he holds. They reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of who we are as a nation. America has always been strengthened by generations of immigrants who come here, work hard, and contribute to our country. They do not weaken America — they strengthen it,” he added.

Rep. Grace Meng, a Taiwanese-American Democrat, also posted on X against President Trump, accusing him of “amplifying a racist rant.” She said that Chinese and Indian Americans were “integral” parts of the country, and that the President’s language was demeaning. “It only fuels an already troubling rise in anti-Asian hate, and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” she added.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthy also took a strong stance against the President, claiming that his rhetoric “doesn’t just insult millions of Indian Americans and one of our most important global partners.” Not every Indian-American was against President Trump’s post. Kush Desai, a spokesperson for the White House, defended the post as per a report in the New York Times. He said that Trump was “calling out the scam of unfettered birthright citizenship.”

“Everyone besides the failing legacy media knows that President Trump has a strong friendship with Prime Minister Modi and loves patriotic Indian Americans who were an important bloc in the historic coalition that fueled his landslide 2024 election victory,” he added. Trump’s post came as the Supreme Court discusses the legality of his executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants. However, the President does not believe the court will rule in his favor.