Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Accusing Donald Trump of pushing India into the Russia-China orbit, former US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan has said America’s President has antagonized India to protect his family members’ business interests in Pakistan.
The American brand is now in the toilet worldwide, he said.
Trump jeopardized the USA’s carefully-cultivated and longstanding strategic partnership with India to protect his family’s personal business interests in Pakistan, he told a YouTube channel, the media reported on Tuesday.
Sullivan, who was the NSA under former President Joe Biden, argued that Trump’s handling of key international relationships has left allies uncertain and sceptical of US commitments.
Successive administrations from both the Republican and Democratic parties had worked for decades to strengthen ties with India, emphasized shared interests in technology, trade, and talent, as well as counter China. All those gains with the world’s largest democracy were now being jeopardised under Trump’s presidency, the ex-NSA said.
“Now, in no small part because of Pakistan’s willingness to do business deals with the Trump family, the US President has thrown the India relationship over the side,” Sullivan said.
“That is a huge strategic harm in its own right because a strong US-India relationship serves our interests.
He said Trump’s public claims of resolving the India-Pakistan tensions alarmed New Delhi. Such conduct erodes global trust in Washington.
“Imagine every other country in the world — Germany, Japan, Canada. They look at this and say: ‘That could be us tomorrow.’ That only reinforces their view that they need to hedge against the United States,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly—over 40 times since May—claimed credit for preventing a potential war between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan. He not only bracketed and hyphenated India, the world’s fastest developing economy, with a nearly bankrupt Pakistan. He also praised and hosted Islamabad’s military leadership and advanced trade initiatives that Pakistan welcomed as a ‘breakthrough.’
India, however, has rejected Trump’s claims, insisting that Washington played no role in defusing tensions after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 Hindu-only tourists, and during the Operation Sindoor that followed.
As a quid pro quo for re-embracing Pakistan, Islamabad nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, something the US President has been publicly campaigning for.
What are the Trump family’s business interests in Pakistan?
In April, just five days after the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan signed a preliminary agreement with World Liberty Financial, a shady, decentralised finance firm 60 percent owned by the Trump family, to promote blockchain technology.
According to a Dawn report, the company’s promotional materials list Donald Trump as “Chief Crypto Advocate,” his sons Eric and Donald Jr as “Web3 Ambassadors” and his youngest son Barron as “DeFi Visionary”.
Trump also promised US support to help Pakistan tap the so-called “massive oil reserves”, effectively cementing an energy partnership.
The Trump administration has for weeks been spewing vitriol against India, singling it out for 50 percent tariffs for purchasing Russian oil, and claiming that New Delhi was ‘funding’ Russia’s war in Ukraine. India has strongly rejected these claims and pointed out that several countries import Russian goods, including the USA and Europe.
On August 27, the White House levied a 50 percent tariff, doubling the baseline 25 percent duties, on Indian goods. Since then, India has reached out to 40 trade partners to strengthen bilateral ties, including Russia and China.
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, where the leaders presented a friendly front vis-à-vis their common rival, Donald Trump.
The former NSA stressed that US’ reliability is at stake when its leadership makes sweeping claims without binding agreements. He cited Trump’s public statements on trade deals with Japan, which Tokyo quickly contradicted, as examples of how verbal assurances risk creating confusion and eroding confidence.
“This is no way to run a railroad, and it certainly isn’t going to serve the interests of the US,” Sullivan said, stating that credibility has long been America’s strongest asset in diplomacy.
He cautioned that weakening trust with New Delhi not only damages bilateral ties but also sends a troubling signal globally. “Our word should be our bond. Our friends should be able to rely on us. That has always been our strength,” he added.
Meanwhile, Trump’s controversial trade advisor Peter Navarro continued his tirage against India and PM Modi, calling the latter’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the just-concluded Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit a “shame.”
“It is a shame to see (PM) Modi getting in bed with Xi Jinping and Putin. I’m not sure what he’s thinking. We hope he comes around to seeing that he needs to be with us and not Russia,” he said.