Tiffen Miller, Scott Bessent, Peter Navarro and Lindsey Graham (left to right). Source: X
The Print published an article on September 6 titled "From Navarro to Loomer - Trump's Team is Making India the New Frontline of MAGA Politics," which argues that the Trump administration has consistently criticized India in areas such as foreign policy, trade, and immigration, pushing India to become a new target for the "Make America Great Again (MAGA)" political movement. The author of this article, Keshav Padmanabhan, is a senior reporter at The Print, covering foreign affairs and foreign policy.
There are several focal points of attacks by high-ranking officials of the Trump administration against India: First, they have been relentlessly targeting India over the purchase of Russian oil. In March, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick demanded that India stop purchasing Russian oil, reduce tariffs, and stop discussing "de-dollarization." In September, Lutnick again mentioned India's purchase of Russian oil, calling it "completely wrong." White House trade advisor Peter Navarro also echoed this stance, criticizing India harshly, referring to the Russia-Ukraine conflict as "Modi's war" and claiming that the "Brahmin class" was profiting from Russian oil deals "at the expense of the Indian people." After intense verbal attacks, the Trump administration used the pretext of sanctioning India's purchase of Russian oil to increase tariffs on India to 50%. Second, they condemned India's role in the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Regarding BRICS, Trump called BRICS an "anti-American" organization and criticized India for remaining in the BRICS bloc, without noticing that India had already clearly refused to participate in any discussions within BRICS about de-dollarization. In the case of the SCO, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated after the SCO summit in September that the meeting was "largely a performance."
Third, the Trump administration has allowed right-wing groups to attack India's legal immigrants. Since Trump's second term began, there have been ongoing disputes within his camp regarding Indian immigrants and H-1B visa issues.
Recent statements by high-level officials of the Trump administration attacking India seem to be a wind vane pointing towards the direction of "targeting legal Indian immigrants." The late right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk openly claimed that "the U.S. doesn't need more visas from India," stating that Indian immigrants "displace American workers" and demanding "putting our own people first." Fox News host Laura Ingraham opposed the U.S.-India trade agreement, concerned that it might issue more visas to India. Far-right activist Laura Loomer referred to Indians as "third-world invaders" and opposed expanding H-1B visas. Although Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his leadership of the Department of State are reportedly trying to contain the damage and maintain U.S.-India relations, the U.S. embassy in India has also announced on social media that it will focus on "people, progress, and possibilities," striving to highlight the positive aspects of bilateral relations. However, as differences between the two countries increase, the rift in U.S.-India bilateral relations is widening.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7557771399604060707/
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