Donald Trump Jr is being criticised for his “tone-deaf remark” about India’s poorest residents during a visit there this week to promote Trump-branded luxury apartments.
“I know some of the most successful businessmen in the world, and some of them are the most miserable people in the world,” Trump Jr added.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Although the businessman may have thought he was paying a compliment, some found the comments jarring, the National Public Radio (NPR) website reports.
Luis Dias, a pediatrician and founder of children’s charity Child’s Play India, told NPR that Trump Jr’s remarks were “condescending” and “a sweeping statement about a demographic he has never really seen or spent time with, either in India or the rest of the world”.
Trump Jr has also been accused of cashing in on the presidency by offering the opportunity to have dinner with him as a reward to buyers of the luxury apartments, being developed in four cities across the country.
His comments about India’s smiling poor also caught the attention of some on social media.
According to a 2016 World Bank report, India has the highest number of people living in poverty in the world, with one in three existing below the $1.90-a-day (£1.36) poverty line, based on data from 2013.
-
Why Saudi Arabia is muscling in on the world of animeUnder the Radar The anime industry is the latest focus of the kingdom’s ‘soft power’ portfolio
-
Scoundrels, spies and squires in January TVthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘The Pitt,’ ‘Industry,’ ‘Ponies’ and ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’
-
Venezuela: The ‘Donroe doctrine’ takes shapeFeature President Trump wants to impose “American dominance”
-
‘The security implications are harder still to dismiss’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Judge clears wind farm construction to resumeSpeed Read The Trump administration had ordered the farm shuttered in December over national security issues
-
Trump DOJ targets Fed’s Powell, drawing pushbackSpeed Read Powell called the investigation ‘unprecedented’
-
What are Donald Trump’s options in Iran?Today's Big Question Military strikes? Regime overthrow? Cyberattacks? Sanctions? How can the US help Iranian protesters?
-
Maduro’s capture: two hours that shook the worldTalking Point Evoking memories of the US assault on Panama in 1989, the manoeuvre is being described as the fastest regime change in history
-
Trump’s power grab: the start of a new world order?Talking Point Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the US president has shown that arguably power, not ‘international law’, is the ultimate guarantor of security
-
A running list of everything Trump has named or renamed after himselfIn Depth The Kennedy Center is the latest thing to be slapped with Trump’s name
-
A running list of the international figures Donald Trump has pardonedin depth The president has grown bolder in flexing executive clemency powers beyond national borders
