Trump mocks Indian call centres

The Republican candidate quickly clarifies that his anger is not against India, but with US leaders who allowed outsourcing.

April 23, 2016 12:18 pm | Updated October 18, 2016 03:05 pm IST - Washington

STANDING WITH TRUMP: Supporters at a Trump rally in Harrington, Delaware.

STANDING WITH TRUMP: Supporters at a Trump rally in Harrington, Delaware.

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump used a fake accent to mock a call centre representative in India.

At the same time, he described India as a great place. The billionaire from New York said he called up his credit card company to find out whether their customer support is based in the U.S. or overseas.

“Guess what, you’re talking to a person from India. How the hell does that work?” he told his supporters in Delaware. “So I called up, under the guise I’m checking on my card, I said, ‘Where are you from?’” Mr. Trump said and then he copied the response from the call centre in a fake Indian accent. “We are from India,” Mr. Trump impersonated the response.

Fake accent “Oh great, that’s wonderful,” he said as he pretended to hang up the phone.

“India is great place. I am not upset with other leaders. I am upset with our leaders for being so stupid,” he said. “I am not angry with China. I am not angry at Japan. I am not angry with Vietnam, India...all these countries.”

Mr. Trump mentioned the fake call to India during his remarks on what he described as “crooked banking”.

Delaware is a hub for America’s banking and credit card industry. The list includes Bank of America, Citibank Delaware, M&T Bank and PNC Financial Services Group.

“They are making a lot of money,” he said. “You can’t allow policies that allow China, Mexico, Japan, Vietnam, India. You can’t allow policies that allow business to be ripped out of the United States like candy from a baby.”

“The manufacturing jobs are being stolen. Our jobs are being taken. We are losing at every front. There is nothing good. Our country does not win anymore. The jobs are being stripped. Factories are closing. We are not going to let this happen anymore,” he said.

Mr. Trump added he has as many as 378 companies registered in Delaware, where the Republican presidential primary is scheduled on April 26 along with several other states. He is leading in polls against his other primary rivals.

In his speech, Mr. Trump praised Delaware’s status as a tax shelter and slammed President Barack Obama for not using the term “radical Islamists” in the fight against terrorism. “I want to run against crooked Hillary,” he said. — PTI

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