On the same morning when the New York Times was headlining a report about Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia holding hands and meeting with President Xi Jinping of China, Donald Trump attempted to downplay the summit that could portend a shift in world power alliances.
With the Times noting, the display of comity seemed aimed at getting the attention of the U.S. president, that observation turned out to be valid with Trump jumping on Truth Social to downplay the entire affair.
According to the Times, “The bonhomie between Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin was meant to convey a close bond between them as leaders of an alternative world order challenging the United States. Mr. Modi sought to show that India has other important friends — including China, regardless of an unresolved border dispute — if the Trump administration chooses to continue alienating New Delhi with tariffs.”
On Truth Social, Trump attempted to blow off worries about the alliance by writing, “What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us. In other words, they sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest ‘client,’ but we sell them very little - Until now a totally one sided relationship, and it has been for many decades,” he claimed.
He then added, “The reason is that India has charged us, until now, such high Tariffs, the most of any country, that our businesses are unable to sell into India. It has been a totally one sided disaster! Also, India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the U.S. They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago.”
“Just some simple facts for people to ponder!!!” he suggested.
You can see his post here.