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As tensions rise between India and the US regarding Donald Trump’s 50 percent tariffs, experts have stated that the US president feels “cheated” by New Delhi.
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Speaking to NDTV, US Strategic Affairs Expert Ashley J. Tellis said that Trump feels “cheated” because he did not get the credit for resolving the India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025.
Tellis, who is the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, further added that PM Modi’s call regarding the ceasefire with Pakistan may have added fuel to the fire.
“I think he feels cheated that he did not get the credit that he believes is his due for having resolved the India-Pakistan crisis in May 2025, and my suspicion is Prime Minister Modi’s call to him, to set the record right, only inflamed the situation rather than resolving it,” Tellis told NDTV.
Following a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which killed 26 people, India launched strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir under ‘Operation Sindoor’. This operation would result in a stand off, brining both countries closer to a fifth war.
India-Pakistan ceasefire and Trump’s alleged involvement
India and Pakistan came to a ceasefire understanding on May 10, 2025, bringing a halt to four days of hostilities between the neighbouring countries. However, before the Indian and Pakistani governments could formally announce the ceasefire, Donald Trump took to Truth Social and announced that Washington had brokered peace between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Since then, Trump has claimed he was the one who brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan and stopped a potential nuclear war. While Pakistan has thanked Trump and his administration for their role and even nominated the US President for a Nobel Peace Prize, India has denied an external role.
The Indian government stated that while calls were made from Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the ceasefire was established only after a phone call from the Pakistan DGMO was made to his Indian counterpart.
Despite India’s denial of any US role and intervention, Trump has continued his claim that he was the one who brought peace to India and Pakistan amid his bid to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
“I have ended 6 wars and I thought that maybe this would be the easiest one. And it’s not the easiest one. It’s a tough one…India-Pakistan, we are talking about big places. You take a look at some of these wars, you go to Africa and take a look at that. Rwanda and the Congo – that has been going on for 31 years. We have done a total of 6, not including the fact that we totally obliterated the future nuclear capability of Iran,” stated Trump in a Truth Social post last month as he called for an end to the Ukraine and Gaza wars.
As Trump repeats his claim, so does India.
At a recent summit, Indian external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar stated that India does not accept any intervention in its foreign policy, especially when it comes to matters with Pakistan. Describing it as a “red line”, the EAM added “it is something quite different to assert mediation, or to assert that an outcome which was negotiated between India and Pakistan was not negotiated between India and Pakistan.”
Trump’s growing tiff with India
In August, a New York Times report claimed that Trump’s targeting of India with 50 percent tariffs and Russian oil purchase boils down to Modi denying Trump credit for the ceasefire with Pakistan.
As per the report, Trump being denied this claim is an obstacle for the US President’s path to a Nobel peace prize. The report further added that this denial added fuel to the fire, resulting Trump to impose the high tariff on India and then targeting it for its purchase of Russian oil, all while skipping China for the same.
The US president has also reportedly cancelled his upcoming visit to India for the Quad Summit 2025.
Amid these tensions, PM Modi’s visit to China for the SCO Summit has also irked officials from the Trump administration, while Democrats have raised concern and stated that Trump’s action may just push India farther away from the US.
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