Different countries, same chaos: The Trump–Rahul parallel
Call it political theatrics, opportunism, ignorance, or some mix of all the above, Donald Trump and Rahul Gandhi, oceans apart in geography but united in recklessness, find a strange alignment. One leads the world’s most powerful democracy, my adopted home for over four decades. The other is heir to a political dynasty in the world’s largest and vibrant democracy, my birthplace, Bharat. Neither, frankly, deserves their political platform. One is all mouth, and the other is just a megaphone. You know who is who.
When Trump recently declared that “India’s economy is dead” and falsely claimed he helped resolve the Indo-Pakistan conflict during Operation Sindhoor, many of us shrugged, accustomed to his exaggerations. But back in India, that is Bharat, Rahul Gandhi eagerly seized these misleading remarks to attack Prime Minister Modi. In doing so, Gandhi offered a dangerous example of how a foreign leader’s misinformation can be blindly imported and weaponized for domestic political gain.
In an age of manufactured narratives and information overload, this unholy alliance between Trump’s loose tongue and Rahul’s eager amplification does more than muddy politics; it risks undermining the national credibility of both democracies.
“Howdy Modi”, “Namaste Trump,” to “India is dead”: Trump’s volatile diplomacy
The irony could not be thicker. In September 2019, Trump and Modi shared the stage at the “Howdy Modi” event in Houston, Texas. Modi’s slogan “Abki Baar, Trump Sarkar” was an unprecedented endorsement of a US president by an Indian Prime Minister. Trump responded in kind, calling Modi a great friend and India a cherished ally.
That spectacle was followed by the “Namaste Trump” rally in February 2020, during Trump’s first state visit to India. A red-carpet welcome in Ahmedabad to the photo-ops at the Taj Mahal, the visit was more symbolic. Even trade negotiations, for instance, made little progress.
Fast forward to July 2025, and the same Trump proclaims that “India’s economy is dead.” Based on what? India, despite global economic headwinds, remains the world’s fifth-largest economy and is projected to surpass Germany and Japan to become the third by 2027, according to IMF and World Bank estimates.
Trump doubled down by falsely claiming credit for resolving Indo-Pak tensions, referencing Operation Sindhoor—an Indian counter-terrorism operation. The Indian government has never invited external mediation in this matter. Trump, however, reiterated it multiple times. Even in 2019, Trump’s 2019 offer to negotiate the Kashmir issue was publicly denied by India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
Rahul Gandhi’s megaphone: No filter, no facts
Instead of calling out Trump’s distortions, Rahul Gandhi parroted them as if Trump’s words were God’s words. This isn’t new. Gandhi has a track record of quoting foreign media and international institutions to criticize India’s internal affairs. But echoing Trump, whose relationship with facts is tenuous at best, marks a new low.
It’s not just intellectually dishonest. It’s politically irresponsible. Gandhi skips the research, borrows and steals someone else’s faulty talking points, and delivers them unfiltered to the Indian public.
What’s worse is the pattern this reveals: Rahul doesn’t know or question credibility; he seeks and exploits convenience. Whenever someone, particularly abroad, criticizes Modi or India, he amplifies them, regardless of accuracy or intent. While Gandhi’s other party colleagues questioned Trump’s statement, he accepted it without raising red flags despite all indicators that Bharat’s economy is strong and rising.
Instead, Gandhi gave Trump’s misinformation undeserved credibility and a domestic audience. He failed to see and understand that such false narratives undermine India’s image. Gandhi, as the Leader of the Opposition in India’s parliament, has every right to be critical of the Modi government’s policies and ask questions, but not discredit India willy-nilly.
Trump’s double game: Praise Modi, reward Pakistan
Despite the facade, Trump’s relationship with India has been transactional and inconsistent. His public praise for Modi has mostly been about courting the influential Indian diaspora in the US, especially in battleground states. Behind the scenes, however, Trump’s diplomacy was far murkier. For example,
- He reversed course on Pakistan: initially cutting aid and labeling it a terrorist haven, Trump later praised Imran Khan and hosted him at the White House.
- He falsely claimed that Modi asked him to mediate on Kashmir, a blatant lie debunked by India promptly.
- During the suspended Operation Sindhoor, while India maintained military and diplomatic pressure on Pakistan, Trump invited Pakistan’s Field Marshal (a “failed” Marshal in India’s press) to lunch, allegedly to discuss economic cooperation, including digital currency, and has now extended it to oil exploration. Pakistan obliged Trump by nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize, which he does not deserve[1].
Reports suggest that Trump, good at deal-making, made a dream deal with Pakistan: to help extract oil from the Balochistan region, turning Pakistan into an energy exporter to the US and even to India. This fantasy, centered around a politically unstable region of Balochistan that seeks independence from Pakistan, underscores just how disconnected Trump’s geopolitical vision is from reality.
And yet, Rahul Gandhi chose to echo Trump without questioning his motive or integrity. Only Gandhi is to be blamed for his ignorance and lack of willingness to understand facts.
Real damage, real consequences
When Trump speaks carelessly and Gandhi amplifies recklessly, they damage the image and reputation of the nations they represent. They undermine public discourse, confuse respective citizens, and weaken mutual relations and global positioning.
India’s relationship with the US is too important to be trivialized by one man’s delusions and another man’s desperation. Modi’s government, like any other, must be held accountable, but not by quoting a political wildcard whose statements often collapse under scrutiny.
If Rahul Gandhi hopes to be taken seriously, he must learn to lead and not react, not recycle, and not outsource political ammunition from dubious sources.
India deserves better
This is not just about Trump and Rahul Gandhi. It is about the quality of leadership and the maturity of political debate. A strong democracy needs a credible government and an intelligent, fact-driven opposition. Not one that amplifies lies for headlines.
Trump’s mouth may fire false narratives, but when Gandhi becomes his megaphone, those narratives echo dangerously loud across India’s political landscape.
India doesn’t need imported lies. It needs homegrown truth, articulated by leaders who think, verify, and place the nation’s dignity above the short-sighted political gain, if any/ Gandhi must understand that Trump’s word is not the last, even as the US President. Those days are long gone when the world listened when the US President speak. While India needs close relations with the US and the rest of the world, the US needs India as much, if not more. When would Gandhi understand that his alliance and blind following of Trump’s incorrect statements are driving him away from his political dream?
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
3. The author acknowledges the use of ChatGPT in researching topics and the meaningful improvement of content.
Reference:
[1] An open letter: Why a Trump nomination is a ‘travesty’ of peace and of the Nobel Peace Prize? – Jul 19, 2025, PGurus.com
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Formerly, a researcher in Italy, Japan, and France, he has widely travelled and came to the US in 1978. He was a faculty and academic administrator in several different universities in PA, TX, NJ, MN, WI, and NY, and an Executive Fellow in the White House S&T Policy during the Clinton administration.
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