Trump softens tone on India after ‘lost to China’ remark

A day after declaring on social media that the US had “lost India and Russia to China,” US President Donald Trump sought to dial down tensions, describing relations with New Delhi as “special” and reaffirming his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I’ll always be friends with Modi. He’s a great prime minister. I just don’t like what he’s doing at this particular moment,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on September 5, adding, “There’s nothing to worry about. We just have moments on occasion.”

The comments came amid Trump’s criticism of India’s continued oil imports from Russia. “I’ve been very disappointed that India would be buying so much oil from Russia, and I’ve let them know — with the 50% tariff,” he said. Yet, Trump stressed, “I get along very well with Modi, as you know.”

Trump’s earlier outburst on his Truth Social platform — “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China” — was accompanied by an old photograph of Modi alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. His post followed visible camaraderie among the three leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, Modi’s first visit there in seven years.

Indian stance: Oil purchases are “sovereign decision”

India has pushed back firmly against US criticism, maintaining that its oil imports from Moscow are dictated by economic and commercial considerations. “Whether it is Russian oil or anything else, it’s our decision to buy from the place which suits our needs,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

New Delhi has also rejected Washington’s charge of indirectly funding Russia’s war machine, arguing that its purchases have helped stabilize global energy markets while cushioning Indian citizens from inflation.

Trump, who has already imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods and threatened further penalties, has repeatedly targeted New Delhi over its energy policy. His former trade advisor Peter Navarro even accused India of being an “oil money laundromat for the Kremlin,” calling the Ukraine conflict “Modi’s war.”

For now, however, Trump appears eager to project personal warmth with Modi — even as deep differences over oil and tariffs continue to cast a shadow on the US-India relationship.