Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton has accused Donald Trump of needlessly antagonising India
- Trump imposed 50% US tariffs on India, including a 25% penalty for buying Russian oil
- Bolton noted China buys Russian oil without facing similar US tariffs or sanctions
- Trump claimed India profits from Russian oil sales and supports Moscow's war in Ukraine
Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton has accused Donald Trump of needlessly antagonising India, calling the steep tariffs imposed on New Delhi "a mistake in the bilateral relationship."
The ex-Trump aide's remarks came after the former president hit India with some of the highest US tariffs -- 50% overall, including a 25% penalty for buying Russian oil. Bolton argued this approach was "backward" and "damaging" to ties between the two nations.
Trump defended his decision, claiming India was helping Moscow prolong its war in Ukraine. "India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine," he wrote on Truth Social.
While China also purchases Russian oil, Bolton pointed out that Beijing faced no such tariffs or secondary sanctions. "India is the one government to have suffered from Trump's effort to get a ceasefire in Ukraine," he noted.
Trump, who briefly engaged in a tariff battle with China in April, at one point imposing rates of up to 145%, has since held back on further escalation with Beijing. India, however, became the prime target of his latest trade salvo.
Earlier in the day Trump lashed out at news outlets for unfairly covering his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. He said that the media will criticise him even if he got "Moscow and Leningrad free", as a part of the deal with Russia.
He continued to attack outlets promoting quotes from former officials who have now turned into critics, and called John Bolton "dumb", who had labelled the summit as a "great victory for Putin".
Speaking to NDTV, Bolton warned that repairing the fallout from the tariffs would take time. "When you make a mistake as big as the way the White House has ended up treating India over the past 30 days, it takes a long time to restore trust and confidence," he said.
Bolton also took a jab at Trump by referencing Pakistan. Underlining how Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government and Army chief Asim Munir are "figuring out a better way to play Trump," he said: "My only suggestion to PM Modi is he could offer to nominate Trump twice for a Nobel peace prize."
In June, Islamabad announced it would formally recommend Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for his "decisive diplomatic intervention" in the recent India-Pakistan conflict. The declaration appeared on X under the headline: Government of Pakistan Recommends President Donald J Trump for 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.
