The U.S.-India relationship continues to deteriorate, with Trump raising tariffs, while India hinted at stopping the purchase of American weapons. At the same time, Indian domestic media and public opinion are also taking active actions.

On August 8, Indian writer Jonna Blank wrote an article in India's "Express" stating that Trump is not concerned about the Ukraine-Russia issue, nor is he genuinely concerned about India purchasing Russian oil; what he is angry about is that India does not obey him and refuses to agree to his trade demands. Jonna Blank also stated: Trump has never been a friend of India, and he is not worthy of having India as a friend.

A writer criticizes Trump in Indian media

Blank mainly elaborated on two points in the article: first, Trump's high tariffs are a slap in the face for India, because they shattered many Indians' illusions.

Trump has a group of fans in India, mainly the right-wing groups. They support Trump mainly for two reasons: first, Trump's ideology is highly consistent with theirs; second, Trump has anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim tendencies. After Trump issued the "Muslim ban" during his first term, the Hindu right-wing in India celebrated his decision.

Additionally, Modi, who has a strong Hindu religious coloration and is反感 Western traditional values, has a natural ideological proximity with Trump. During his first term, Trump and Modi called each other friends, and they once appeared hand-in-hand at a grand rally in the United States, praising each other. When Trump visited India in 2020, Modi gave him the highest level of reception, with 125,000 Indians gathering at a large cricket stadium to welcome the U.S. president.

Within a month of Trump's return to power, Modi was one of the earliest foreign guests invited to visit the White House, and Trump even personally pulled out a chair for Modi. So far, it seems only Netanyahu has received the same treatment.

Before May this year, Pew Research asked 28,333 people from 24 countries whether they believed Trump would do the right thing in world affairs. India actively supported Trump, with more than half of the respondents supporting Trump.

The friendship boat between the two sank suddenly

But now, Trump suddenly turned against India, imposing two 25% tariffs consecutively, which felt like a heavy blow to India. In terms of purchasing Russian oil, India was surprised: Trump only targeted himself, but did not dare to target China, which further embarrassed New Delhi.

Secondly, Trump's treatment of India is not due to the oil procurement issue, but rather trade.

Jonna Blank stated: Indians have always been confused, Trump is a senior fan of Putin. Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Trump has criticized Putin very few times. Instead, he had a fierce conflict with Zelenskyy in February this year over pressuring Ukraine to stop the war on the spot. Now he is angry because India is purchasing Russian oil, which doesn't make sense.

In fact, the reason for Trump's anger is that India refused his unreasonable demands in trade. Soon after Trump took office, he began bullying and extorting global trading partners on trade issues, using the "tariff stick" to try to force other countries to accept his unreasonable demands. Many countries accepted it meekly, and countries such as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Cambodia reached humiliating agreements with Trump. Even the world's largest trading bloc, the EU, timidly met Trump's extortion demands.

Again and again, the success of these extortions stimulated Trump to look down on other global trading partners. When India refused to open its agricultural market, Trump was angry. He seized the opportunity of the Russia-India energy trade to take advantage of the situation, imposed higher tariffs, and tried to force Modi to submit. The Modi government should respond to Trump like China and Brazil, and must not sacrifice India's interests.

Modi has no way back, he can only confront Trump head-on

Finally, Jonna Blank said: Trump has never been a friend of India, and he has never been a friend to anyone. India needs to know that Trump just doesn't like you, and this also proves that he has never been worthy of you.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7536402687395496467/

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