Who is Manu Raju? Indian-American journalist confronts Marco Rubio on US-Iran conflict

CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju under scrutiny for exchanges with U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio at a press conference in Washington, DC. Raju, who is Indian-American, focused his questions on Rubio’s explanation of why the United States joined military action against Iran, an exchange that went viral on social media.Rubio said at a news conference this week that the United States launched the attack on Iran because American leaders believed that Israel was planning an attack on Iran and that Tehran would then retaliate against U.S. forces. Therefore, the United States first took preventive measures to avoid causing more casualties.Rubio said that based on this information, the United States decided to take action first to protect the US military.At a news conference, Manu Raju repeated part of Rubio’s earlier statement and asked whether planned attacks by Israel were the reason for the U.S. action. Rubio responded, “Nothing to clarify,” and at one point told Raju, “This is my press conference.”The exchange was notable because many conservative commentators and lawmakers believed Rubio’s earlier comments suggested U.S. actions were tied to Israeli plans. That raises questions about why the United States attacked Iran and whether other allies affected the timing of military action.Rubio later sought to clarify his previous remarks, saying Washington was aware of Israel’s plans but that the decision to strike Iran was made by the US president himself and would have happened regardless. President Donald Trump also denied that Israel determines U.S. actions, saying the U.S. makes its own decisions based on its assessment of the threat from Iran.Manu Raju is a veteran American political journalist. He joined CNN in 2015 after reporting for Politico and other national news outlets. Raju covers the U.S. Congress and national politics, and he also co-hosts CNN’s Sunday political news program Inside Politics with Manu Raju.Raju gained attention early in his career for covering major elections and legislative battles, winning journalism awards for his coverage. He was born in Illinois to parents who immigrated from Karnataka, India, in the 1970s. His father was a doctor and his family background included an Indian grandfather who was a Kannada poet. Raju grew up in the United States, where he built his journalism career.