President Donald Trump was torn apart by The Washington Post editorial board on Monday for his strong-arm tactics against the government of India — a measure they warned could not just backfire in his face, but undo decades of progress for the United States in building closer ties to the world's most populous country.
Trump has done everything in his power to pressure India to turn away from involvement with Russia and China, mostly by imposing massive tariffs on the country as a bargaining chip. The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has responded by meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping, prompting an online meltdown by the president.
"Relations with India hit new lows last week, as both President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi dug in their heels over a festering tariff dispute. Much of it is political theater as the two sides white-knuckle their way toward a trade agreement," wrote the board. "Though Trump allies offer quiet reassurances that this is just a tense business negotiation, the president’s transactional approach comes with risks."
Fundamentally, the board continued, "Alliances are not a turnkey solution to every global challenge. Trump is correct that they have too often become distorted and unbalanced through free-riding. But it’s better to have allies than not when facing a pacing threat as scary as China. It’s easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar. India, with a host of its own issues with China, has been fed a steady diet of vinegar for several weeks now."
For starters, the board said, Trump is demanding India give credit for mediating a dispute with Pakistan, which India will never realistically do. For another, Trump and his aides are going so far as to blame Modi for the Ukraine war because they are buying Russian oil — which has deterred India little, as "Instead of bending to pressure ... India is set to increase Russian oil purchases between 10 and 20 percent from August levels, Reuters reported on Thursday."
All of this is unlikely to give Trump what he wants, said the board, because "Popular opinion in a rising India is unflinchingly proud and nationalistic at the moment."
"Trump’s zero-sum approach is to not leave any money on the table in negotiations," the board concluded. "Even in business, that’s arguably a mistake. Goodwill has value. Trump’s talks with China might yet turn out to be every bit as bruising as those he is having with allies. Maybe that’s when he might appreciate better relations with friends."