The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his first official four-day visit to India starting on 23rd May 2026. After months of US President Donald Trump’s asinine policy and rhetorical attacks on India, Rubio’s visit turned out to be more of a stabiliser than a breakthrough spectacle. Ever since Marco Rubio landed in Kolkata, there has been an online chatter that the top US official was “royally ignored” and received a “cold welcome” from the Modi government.
Upon his initial Kolkata arrival, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor was present; however, from the Indian side, no senior minister arrived to welcome Rubio. Even during low-key stops in Agra and Jaipur, the US Secretary of State was accompanied by minimal local officials, including police SHO, administrative officials and standard security. India is known for its warm and lavish welcomes; Rubio, being deprived of one, is being seen as a snub.
So much so that even the hostile neighbour Pakistan is discussing how they lay a red carpet and the entire top Pakistani government and military leadership rushes to the airport to accord a grand welcome, while India does not make a big deal out of such visits.
Before delving into whether Trump’s trusted official was snubbed or not, let’s take a look at how the Indian side of social media reacted to Marco Rubio’s ‘cold welcome’ in India.
One X user wrote, “I suspect that something has happened between India & USA that is not widely known. Otherwise, Marco Rubio would not have got such a bad reception. Even Asim Munir would get a better welcome than this, were he to come.”
Another one had a rather hilarious take as he wrote that whoever planned Rubio itinerary wanted to punish him by exposing him to India’s peak summer. “Bare minimum protocol continues, no extra courtesies. Rubio is additionally being punished in 45 degrees, like who planned Agra at 11.30 am and Jaipur at 2.45 PM? Unless someone wanted Rubio to be punished,” the X user posted.
One “Panther” dropped a short and sarcastic, “Secretary of State- USA Zabardast Swagat Hota hua (receiving ‘grand’ welcome)”, remark.
Highlighting how Rubio was sent off from Rajasthan’s Jaipur by local police and administrative officials, one X user called it “one of the coldest receptions ever for a US Administrator.”
A popular OSINT handle “Osint TV” lauded the Central government for demonstrating professional diplomacy and correct handling of protocol. The X user posted, “This is India, this is how professional diplomacy works. No PM, no CDS, no EAM and no unnecessary top-level political presence just to send off U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he departed Jaipur for Delhi to attend the QUAD meetings. Protocol was handled correctly by the appropriate ranking diplomatic and local officials, strictly adhering to standard international practice. India relies on institutional protocol, not theatrical over-hospitality or performative drama like our paijaans doing.”
Meanwhile, former DGP of Jammu and Kashmir, Shesh Paul Vaid deemed the supposed snub by the Modi government to US administration’s third most powerful person, a response to Trump’s recent amplification of the “India is hellhole” remark.
“Modi government brought down the level of Secretary of State of USA, the number three most powerful man of only Super Power of the world to the level of SHO. Atleast I have not seen such a shabby treatment to the USA’s External Affairs Minister. What a response to Trump’s Shithole comment!” Vaid posted.
Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi also dubbed Rubio’s reception in India as “relatively lower-key protocol” and wrote, “If the US chooses pressure tactics against India, it should not expect red-carpet diplomacy in return. The relatively lower-key protocol for Marco Rubio is a reminder that respect in international relations must be mutual. India engages as an equal, not as a client state.”
Even during Rubio’s departure from India, it was again local police and some government officials, alongside US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor.
Was Marco Rubio accorded a low-key welcome? The protocol reality and the snub
The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to India centred on the agenda of trade, energy, critical minerals, Quad cooperation against Chinese assertiveness, and the prevailing West Asia crisis. Rubio called the trip “phenomenal” and even conveyed President Trump’s White House invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Phenomenal or not, the timing of Rubio’s visit to India indicated Trump’s interest in mending ties with India, especially when the R-I-C, Russia, India and China are coming closer, though not without cautious optimism. The timing is also of particular significance, given that Trump’s recent visit to China did not yield any apparent positives for the US.
Today, @DrSJaishankar and I signed a bilateral Critical Minerals Framework, marking a milestone in the strategic partnership between the U.S. and India.
This sets us on a path toward reliable & resilient mineral supply chains, reinforcing key objectives established by @POTUS. pic.twitter.com/kjS3TwdV6J
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 26, 2026
The US has given India many reasons in the past few months to be upset and give its visiting officials a cold shoulder; however, for a Secretary of State on a multi-city trip, minimum protocol is not absolutely surprising. Rubio was met with a respectful welcome, as is expected from a powerful nation like India.
The ‘snub’ speculations, however, gain credence from the fact that back in 2023, when then US Secretary of State under Biden administration, Antony Blinken, arrived in New Delhi, he was received by top officials from the External Affairs Ministry.
Marco Rubio was given a mature welcome warranted in a transactional relationship between two countries. He was received by the head of the American mission in India, which is technically the right protocol.
It must also not be forgotten that meting out any special protocol treatment to Rubio would mean that India give equivalent treatment to the visiting Japanese and Australian Foreign Ministers for the Quad meeting, as noted by former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal.
“That Rubio was not received at appropriate level on arrival is not correct. He was received by the head of the Americas division, which is the right protocol. Any special protocol treatment to Rubio, even if considered exceptionally, would also have to be given to the visiting Japanese and Australian FMs for the Quad meeting,” Sibal said.
Counterarguments to this, however, have also come up with many saying that India has good relations with Japan and Australia, and the Indian government would have had no reservations about giving them a ‘grand’ welcome as well, if the Centre decided to pull off a spectacular show for Rubio.
Rubio caught off guard by Indian media on racism in the US against Indians
Moving ahead, Rubio also faced some tough questions from the Indian media, particularly about the growing racism against Indians and Indian Americans in the US.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was seen visibly uncomfortable while responding to a question about racism targeting Indians and Indian-Americans in the United States during a joint media interaction in New Delhi alongside External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on 24th May.
During the press briefing, Rubio appeared momentarily uncomfortable when journalist Sidhant Sibal asked about racist comments and hostility faced by Indians and Indian-origin communities in the United States. At first, he seemed to pretend he had not fully understood the question and briefly paused before responding cautiously.
He then gave a defensive reply, saying such comments come from “stupid people” and should not be seen as representative of the United States as a whole.
Although the Indian journalist did not explicitly name Donald Trump, the question was mainly in the backdrop of Trump’s Truth Social post amplifying a racist podcaster’s remarks calling India a “hellhole”.
The US State Department published an X post sharing the video of the press conference exchange between Rubio and Sibal. However, after a realisation perhaps that it was not a win, they thought it is, the US State Department deleted the post.
Even foreign media also questioned Rubio on the racism issue. Rubio’s responses, however, clearly indicated that he was not expecting such blunt questions from Indian media.
Rubio was also questioned about America’s sudden tilt towards Pakistan. Though Rubio could not compensate for the trust deficit, he assured that US-Pakistan tactical ties will not undermine the India-US partnership.
‘India will buy oil from whoever it wants’: EAM Jaishankar’s unapologetic “India First” statement right in front of Marco Rubio
For the past few weeks, a narrative was being pushed by a section of media in India and abroad that somehow New Delhi was seeking permission from Washington to purchase Russian oil amidst supply chain disruptions caused by America’s war on Iran. There have been attempts to portray India as ‘weak’ and that it has abandoned Russian oil imports to please Trump, even as India never really stopped buying Russian oil.
In fact, while India not giving Trump a false credit for ending the India-Pakistan conflict last May, the entire tariff tirade was meant to dissuade India from buying Russian oil.
However, during a joint press conference in Delhi with the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, India’s Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar, clearly stated that India will continue to diversify its energy sources to fulfil its energy needs. Answering a question relating to energy sources in the context of the ongoing energy crisis caused by the war in the Middle East, Jaishankar said that India has to fulfil its energy requirements, and for that, it will keep multiple cheaper and dependable options to source energy.
“Where the energy issues are concerned… I want to say, for our energy security, it is important that we have multiple sources, large sources, dependable sources, cheap sources… so we will continue to diversify and maintain multiple sources of supply at the most reasonable cost because at the end of the day we have an obligation to our people to provide them energy at affordable and accessible uh rates. Now, what we don’t want to see we don’t want to see energy markets distorted. We don’t want to see energy markets constricted because it has a cost implication…,” Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar’s blunt “Trump administration has been very forthright… America First. We have a view of India First”, statement, right in front of Rubio, holds immense significance. India has been among the few countries which did not surrender to Trump’s intransigence. EAM Jaishankar’s straight talk sent a message to Rubio, to the Trump administration and the world, that strategic autonomy, for India, is not a mere fancy term but a non-negotiable policy.
Even earlier this month, the Modi government reiterated that it is going to keep procuring crude oil from Russia, irrespective of any exemption from the United States.
Overall, Rubio had a decent trip to India; talks happened, he met PM Modi, Quad advanced, amid speculations that it is losing importance, talks advanced on trade. India did not accord a maximal welcome to the US, obviously, because the relationship between India and the US is not as warm as it was prior to Trump’s tantrums. New Delhi asserted agency without alienation. This is peak diplomacy, wherein those who have drifted apart are welcome but not subjected to India’s hallmark grand welcome.
