Why Many Indian Americans Still Back Trump, According to Comedian Zarna Garg

Stand-up comedian and author Zarna Garg says a surprising number of Indian Americans view President Donald Trump more positively than many other U.S. communities. She attributes that outlook to cultural expectations about politics in India and a strong preference for strict immigration enforcement that rewards those who follow legal channels.

Speaking on a recent podcast hosted by Joanna Coles, Garg offered a candid explanation for why parts of the Indian American community are more forgiving of Trump’s behavior than other groups.

"I can give you a hot take — I mean, the Indian community loves Trump. We don’t have the problems with him that a lot of people in America have," Garg said.

Garg noted that many Indian Americans come from a political culture where corruption is common, saying that voters often assume public office carries unsavory baggage. For some, that expectation reduces the stigma attached to allegations of wrongdoing.

Since 2017, President Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi have displayed a consistently warm public relationship. Supporters point to personal chemistry and shared nationalist-populist ideas as a basis for the close ties; critics counter that Trump appears to admire aspects of Modi’s "strongman" image and the centralization of power that has raised democratic and human-rights concerns during Modi’s tenure.

"First of all, our politicians are crooked back home, so that just seems to be a job requirement. So I mean, they’re like, of course he’s a criminal, they all are," Garg said. "Nobody who’s not a criminal wants to do this job."

Garg also referenced Mr. Trump’s legal status: when he returned to the White House in January, he became the first convicted felon to hold the U.S. presidency, following convictions on 34 felony counts related to falsified business records tied to hush-money payments.

Critics have flagged a range of ethical concerns about the administration, including accusations that the president profits from his businesses while in office and that allies and family members have benefited from access and influence. The administration has also pursued a broad enforcement agenda on immigration that opponents describe as an unprecedented deportation effort.

Those enforcement actions, Garg argued, resonate with many Indian Americans because a large share of the community immigrated through legal channels after long waits and extensive paperwork. That experience shapes how they view policies that prioritize legal entry and stricter enforcement.

"Indian people, by and large, are legal immigrants in America, which means it was years of waiting, years of applying paperwork. They did not understand what was happening during the Biden administration. We could not understand why they were not taking this seriously, because ask any Indian person — we have relatives who have been waiting 15 years in line because that’s the right thing to do, and then it felt like anybody who was breaking the law was getting rewarded," she said.

Garg emphasized that she does not endorse all of Trump’s methods. "I don’t think he should be doing things the way he’s doing them," she said. "I have a problem with his execution. But a lot of the problems that he has highlighted are real problems, and just saying that the problem doesn’t exist is not going to make them go away."

Her remarks highlight how immigrant communities’ political views can be shaped by a mix of personal experience, cultural context, and reactions to specific policy outcomes rather than by simple partisan alignment.