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Ro Khanna slams Spencer Pratt over ‘Zero Mozarts’ remark about India
The social media spat began on X when Pratt responded to a podcast clip featuring Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
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Staff Reporter - Tue, 18, Aug 2026
- 01:57 EDT
- 32
Ro Khanna / Ro Khanna website
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna has called out reality TV star Spencer Pratt over his remarks against India that the country had “produced precisely zero Mozarts” despite its massive population, asserting that American strength comes from embracing international genius and the best traditions of the world rather than relying on cultural chauvinism.
The social media spat began on X when Pratt responded to a podcast clip featuring Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Discussing his vision for human expansion into space, Bezos in the podcast had suggested that a trillion-person civilization across the solar system would naturally multiply world-class talent, stating, “I would love to see a trillion humans living in the solar system. If we had a trillion humans, we would have at any given time 1,000 Mozarts and 1,000 Einsteins. Our solar system would be full of life and intelligence and energy.”
Pratt pushed back by singling out India’s population to argue that numbers alone do not create genius.
Also Read: Ro Khanna proposes ‘ownership economy’ as US wage share drops
“Yeah that’s not how greatness works, Jeff. India has 2X more people than the entire earth did in Mozart’s time and they’ve produced precisely zero Mozarts. Numbers don’t produce greatness, cultures do,” Pratt said.Khanna, the Indian American lawmaker who represents Silicon Valley, directly countered Pratt’s claims by pointing to India’s deep musical heritage. The congressman highlighted two seminal figures in world music: A.R. Rahman, the Oscar- and Grammy-winning composer who has been famously dubbed the “Mozart of Madras,” and Kakarla Tyagabrahmam, the 18th-century composer widely revered as one of the fundamental pillars of Carnatic classical music.
You don't have to run other people down to lift us up. Time literally called A.R Rahman the Mozart of Madras and Tyagaraja was a melodic genius. What makes America exceptional is an embrace of the best traditions of the world, not an ignorant rejection of them. https://t.co/D2yb8mP9Ps
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) August 18, 2026
“You don't have to run other people down to lift us up. TIME literally called A.R. Rahman the ‘Mozart of Madras’ and Tyagaraja was a melodic genius,” he said.
Arguing that America’s defining strength has always been its open-minded embrace of global genius and multicultural contributions, Khanna said, “What makes America exceptional is an embrace of the best traditions of the world, not an ignorant rejection of them.”
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