The US Will Regret Throwing India Under the Bus
After long efforts to woo New Delhi as an ally against China, Washington has abruptly veered toward hostility.
Suddenly so glum.
Photographer: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump just threw India under the bus. After months of affronts and barbs, Washington now treats New Delhi more as foe than friend, undermining a relationship that several American administrations — including Trump’s first — tried to strengthen, not least to contain China in the Indo-Pacific. Instead, India will now distance itself from the US and draw closer to Russia and even China.
By diplomatic standards, the deterioration has been abrupt. Contrast the vibe between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on two occasions this year. In February, Modi visited Trump in the White House, and the pair looked like two populist peas in a pod. Gushing about his MAGA host, Modi pledged to Make India Great Again and promised that “MAGA plus MIGA becomes a mega partnership.”