A Pakistan-based account shared a video of Shashi Tharoor and claimed that he launched a scathing attack on US President Donald Trump, on American soil, stating: “No class. No statesmanlike gravitas. Not even intellectual quality.”
In a blistering critique, Tharoor directly aimed at President Trump, not for his policies, but for his demeanour.
Speaking on US soil, Tharoor compared Trump unfavourably to former American presidents, accusing him of lacking the dignity, depth, and intellectual stature expected of a world leader.
Fact Check
We found that the video is old and has been shared misleadingly. The full video was found on YouTube’s Channel of the Asia Society, published on 12 September 2024. The video is from the Jaipur Literature Festival 2024 took place in New York on September 10, 2024. Shashi Tharoor participated in a session titled “A Man for All Seasons,” where he discussed his literary works, political experiences, and perspectives on India and global affairs.
A review of the full session video and transcript reveals that Tharoor did not make the specific remarks attributed to him in the viral video. While he discussed various topics, including global politics and leadership, there is no evidence of the quoted statement being made during this event.
Shashi Tharoor did not make the quoted remarks:
- He did not say “No class. No statesmanlike gravitas. Not even intellectual quality.”
- He did not launch a specific attack on Trump’s demeanour or directly compare him to past U.S. presidents during that event.
While Tharoor has criticized Donald Trump in the past, including on topics like Kashmir and diplomacy, those critiques were made in different contexts, such as social media or press statements, not in the speech being falsely attributed to him.
Conclusion
The claim that Shashi Tharoor made a scathing verbal attack on Donald Trump with the quoted lines on American soil is false and misleading.
The video being shared is from 2024, and the quoted words do not appear in his remarks.
