Trump makes U-turn on India, calls PM Modi ‘a great friend’ a day after ‘lost to darkest China’ swipe

A day after posting that the US had “lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China,” President Donald Trump said the India-US relationship remained “special” and that he continues to share a strong personal bond with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The remarks also come amid current tensions between Washington and Delhi over tariffs and purchase of Russian oil.

“I'll always be friends with (Narendra) Modi… He’s a great prime minister. He's great. But I just don't like what he's doing at this particular moment. But India and the United States have a special relationship. There's nothing to worry about. We just have moments on occasion,” Trump said at the Oval Office on Friday.



His Oval Office comments followed the 'lost to China' remark on Friday against the backdrop of visible bonhomie among Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at last week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin. A few days later, he posted on Truth Social: “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” The post was accompanied by an old photo of the three leaders together.

At the White House, Trump voiced frustration over Delhi’s energy ties with Moscow. “I've been very disappointed that India would be buying so much oil from Russia, and I let them know that. We put a very big tariff on India, 50 per cent tariff, very high tariff. I get along very well with (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, he's great. He was here a couple of months ago,” Trump added.

To a question on how trade talks are going with India and other countries, Trump said, “They are going great. Other countries are doing great. We're doing great with all of them. We're upset with the European Union because of what's happening with not just Google, but with all of our big companies.”

Members of his trade team also voiced concerns. Peter Navarro, Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing, said on X, “India buys Russian oil purely to profit/revenues feed Russia war machine. Ukrainians/Russians die. US taxpayers shell out more. India can't handle truth/spins.”

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told reporters, “I think the trade team and the president are disappointed that India continues to fund Russia's Ukraine war, and hopefully it's a diplomatic issue that will have positive development soon.”

(With inputs from PTI)