On February 12-13, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Washington, D.C., for a meeting with President Trump. As the fourth world leader to meet Trump after his inauguration—following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Japanese Prime Minister Shinjiro Ishiba, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II—Modi’s visit marked a key moment in U.S.-India relations. During this event, a video has gone viral on social media showing an Indian journalist asking Trump about the Khalistan referendum campaign. In the video, Trump responds with, “I can’t understand a word you are saying.” The claim being made alongside the video is that Trump deliberately dodged the question related to the Khalistan issue.
Sharing the video, the handle Chouhan Jasmeet wrote, “President Trump SNUBBED PM Modi’s Hindutva Follower DC based PTI Journalist Lalit Jha For Asking Question on Khalistan Campaign. Next Khalistan Referendum on 23rd March in Los Angeles.” (Archived link)
🚨 President Trump SNUBBED PM Modi’s Hindutva Follower DC based PTI Journalist Lalit Jha For Asking Question on Khalistan Campaign.
— J.S (@chouhan_jasmeet) February 14, 2025
Next Khalistan Referendum on 23rd March in Los Angeles 🇺🇲 pic.twitter.com/r27pQuyjsV
Another handle AV Sandhu wrote, “During Trump-Modi meeting, journalist asked President Trump how will you deal Khalistan supporters in Usa? President Trump’s obvious answer “I dont understand the accent of asking questions of a journalist.” President Trump Refused to fall into Modi’s Trap on question about Khalistan referendum campaign in Us while Senior Trump official sent a strong message to India on Pannun’s Assassination attempted by RAW.” (Archived link)
During Trump-Modi meeting, journalist asked President Trump how will you deal Khalistan supporters in Usa?
— Av sandhu (@Hawkglock1) February 14, 2025
President Trump’s obvious answer “I dont understand the accent of asking questions of a journalist”😆😆
President Trump Refused to fall into Modi’s Trap on question about… pic.twitter.com/Q44tfRaBa0
Freedom News asserted, “This is how Indians got embarrassed on Khalistan’s question: No English Saar.” (Archived link)
This is how Indians got embarrassed on Khalistan's question: No English Saar 🤣🤣🤣#GrandeFratello #Muenchen #ValentinesDay #TrumpTariffs #Canada #Trump #ModiInUS pic.twitter.com/539tIe1VE4
— 🇺🇲Freedom-News (@freedom180404) February 14, 2025
The video was also shared by other handles like santhoshd ((Archived link), and Harpreet (Archived link).
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Fact Check
In our investigation, we first conducted a keyword search on YouTube and found the full 39:59-minute video of the joint press conference on the Ministry of External Affairs official channel.
At the 17-minute mark, an Indian journalist Lalit Jha asks Trump a question related to the Khalistan referendum, stating, “For the past few years, several groups in the U.S. have been raising anti-India voices, calling for separation and engaging in terrorism-related activities in India. Do you think this should continue here in the U.S. as well?”
At 18 minutes and 14 seconds, while the journalist is asking the question, Trump gestures with his hand, signaling the journalist to speak louder. After the question is completed, Trump responds, “You’re going to have to go louder.” The journalist then repeats the question, but Trump replies, “I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”
Later in the video, at 19 minutes 25 seconds, India Today’s journalist Geeta Mohan follows up on the Khalistan referendum question originally asked by Lalit Jha. She asks, “Many Khalistani separatists are working against Indian interests. How is the United States going to cooperate with India on that front?”
In response, Trump states, “I don’t think India has a very good relationship with the Biden administration.” He further adds that he is immediately extraditing Tahawwur Rana to India, referring to him as a violent person. Trump also mentions, “We work with India on crime.”
In conclusion, the claim that Trump dodged a question on Khalistani separatism is misleading. Initially, Trump could not hear the journalist’s question properly. When the journalist repeated the question, Trump stated that he could not understand the journalist’s accent. However, when Geeta Mohan later asked a similar question, Trump did not directly address Khalistani separatism but instead commented that India did not have a good relationship with the Biden administration. He also mentioned that the U.S. and India would cooperate on crime and confirmed the extradition of Tahawwur Rana to India.
| Claim | Trump dodged the question about Khalistan referendum at India-US press conference. |
| Claimed by | Social media users |
| Fact Check | Trump did not try to dodge the question; he simply couldn’t hear it properly. However, when India Today’s journalist later asked about Khalistani separatism, Trump did respond to the question. |
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