John Bolton, once National Security Advisor to Donald Trump in his first term in office and since one of his toughest critics, has blamed the former president for sabotaging Washington's long-term policy toward India. He criticized Trump for "shredding" decades of diplomacy aimed at deepening U.S.-India relations.
“Donald Trump, in the past weeks, has essentially upended that and for a variety of reasons sent India back toward Russia, to grow closer to China, and just shredding these decades of efforts to try and change that alignment,” he told Sky News in an interview on Monday.
Bolton noted that prior to Trump's ascension to power, U.S. policy was aimed at drawing India away from Moscow during the Cold War and its complicated relations with Beijing. “The West has spent decades, US in particular, trying to wean India away from its Cold War attachment to the Soviet Union [and] Russia, buying sophisticated weapons from them and cautioning India on the danger posed by China, symbolised by what's called the Asian Security Quad - Japan, India, Australia and the United States,” he added.
The previous security director also described a number of Trump actions that drove New Delhi away, such as the breakdown in trade negotiations. “The Indians thought they were in close negotiations to solve this, as Britain did with Trump, and Trump just dismissed it and set 25 per cent tariffs. Trump whacked India with another 25 per cent. (He) did not tariff Russia, did not tariff China, the largest purchaser of Russian oil and gas,” Bolton explained.
He also criticized Trump's response to tensions between India and Pakistan in 2019, following a terrorist attack in Kashmir. “When the recent escalation between Pakistan and India over a terrorist attack in Kashmir occurred, it escalated, then came back down. Trump took full credit for it as one of the six or seven wars that he stopped this year to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, which has made India incandescent,” he noted.
Trump, in turn, doubled down on Monday, condemning India's trade policy and labeling it a "one-sided disaster."
Bolton himself has come under fire in recent days, after U.S. federal officials raided his home and offices. American media reports say the probe relates to allegations that he kept classified documents.
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