As part of India’s strategic diplomatic outreach following Operation Sindoor, an all-party delegation has been dispatched to several countries to convey a strong and unified national message of zero tolerance towards terrorism. These delegations are engaging with policymakers and diplomats in countries such as Russia, France, Japan, Germany, and the United States, emphasising India’s position that terrorism, particularly state-sponsored cross-border terrorism, must be universally condemned and decisively countered. More details regarding this all-party delegation can be found here and here.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is leading one of these all-party parliamentary delegations to five countries (the United States, Guyana, Panama, Brazil, and Colombia) to brief the international community on India’s response to the 22 April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against terrorism. The delegation has already visited the United States and Guyana, and is scheduled to travel to Panama on 27 May 2025, followed by visits to Brazil and Colombia.
In this context, a video (here, here) allegedly showing Shashi Tharoor criticising US President Donald Trump has gone viral on social media. In the video, the Congress MP draws a comparison between Trump and former US presidents and describes him as neither an agreeable nor a pleasant leader. The video is being circulated with the claim that Tharoor made these remarks during the all-party delegation’s visit to the United States. We have also received several queries on our WhatsApp tipline (+91 92470 52470), asking whether Shashi Tharoor made these comments during India’s recent all-party delegation visit to the United States, following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. Through this article, let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor criticising US President Donald Trump during the Indian delegation’s visit to the United States, as part of India’s global outreach campaign on Operation Sindoor.
Fact: This viral video is not related to India’s recent all-party delegation to the US. The video dates back to September 2024 and shows MP Shashi Tharoor speaking about Donald Trump at the Jaipur Literature Festival held in New York, USA, on 10 September 2024. Donald Trump was not the President of the United States at that time. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
To obtain details about the viral video, we conducted a Google reverse image search using keyframes from the clip. This led us to a video posted on the Instagram account of ‘Asia Society’ on 24 September 2024. From this, it is clear that the video is not from the recent delegation led by Shashi Tharoor to the US, which aimed to present India’s stance on terrorism, as the viral video predates the all-party delegation’s visit to the US.
According to the description of the Instagram post, the video relates to Shashi Tharoor’s appearance at the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) 2024. The description also mentions that the full video is available on the Asia Society’s YouTube channel. We subsequently visited the Asia Society’s YouTube channel and found the extended version of the viral video, published on 12 September 2024, titled “Jaipur Literature Festival 2024 | Shashi Tharoor: A Man for All Seasons.” The video features Tharoor in conversation with Aroon Purie, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of the India Today Group, discussing various issues concerning Indian and American politics. According to the video description posted by Asia Society, Tharoor made these remarks on 10 September 2024 at the Jaipur Literature Festival held in New York, USA. The viral clip appears around the timestamp 12:36, when Aroon Purie asks Tharoor, “What do you think about Trump?”.
The video was also shared on the Asia Society’s official website. On 11 September 2024, the official Instagram accounts of the Jaipur Literature Festival, Asia Society, and Shashi Tharoor shared various photos of the conversation between Tharoor and Purie (here).
On 15 September 2024, Shashi Tharoor also posted the link to the full video on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, stating: “The full video of my conversation with @AroonPurie of @IndiaToday in New York.”
It is important to note that Donald Trump was not the President of the United States at the time. He was sworn in for a second term on 20 January 2025 (here, here).
The all-party delegation to the United States, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, has highlighted India’s precise and calibrated response to terrorist bases, headquarters, and launchpads in Pakistan following the heinous terror attack in Pahalgam.
On 24 May 2025, Mr Tharoor spoke at an event hosted by the Consulate General of India in New York. During the interaction, he discussed India’s measured response to the Pahalgam attack and how the nation stood united in its resolve to counter Pakistan’s state-sponsored terrorism. Mr Tharoor emphasised that India has no interest in engaging in warfare with Pakistan, stressing that the country would much rather be left to focus on economic growth and the upliftment of its people as it prepares to meet the challenges of the 21st century (here, here, and here).
To sum up, a video from September 2024 showing Shashi Tharoor criticising Donald Trump is being shared in connection with India’s recent all-party delegation visit to the United States.
