‘Trump Realised He Was Wrong To Expect India's Surrender’: Ex-Diplomat Decodes US' Softened Tone

Last Updated:September 08, 2025, 09:16 IST

Former diplomat said that Donald Trump has realised he was "wrong" to expect India to surrender to his tariff pressure tactics and therefore, he softened his tone on New Delhi.

India-Russia ties: Ex-diplomat says Trump realised he was wrong about India (Reuters Image)

Donald Trump has started realising that he was wrong to expect India to surrender to his 50% tariff pressure tactics, former Indian diplomat KP Fabian said, pointing to the US President’s softened tone in which he described India-America ties as “very special relationship".

He said that Trump underestimated India’s resolve against his tariffs, which the ex-diplomat explained as “without any solid basis".

Fabian’s remarks came after PM Modi issued his first direct response to Trump’s statements in recent weeks, stating that he “deeply appreciates and fully reciprocates" the US President’s sentiments on India-US relations. Hours ago, Trump had dialled down his criticism of India, stating that he will “always be friends with PM Modi" and that India and the United States have a special relationship.

“Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties. India and the US have a very positive and forward-looking Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership," PM Modi had tweeted.

Ex-Diplomat Says Trump Realised He Was Wrong

Speaking to news agency ANI, Fabian said that Trump came to terms with the reality that he was “wrong" in presuming that India would surrender to his tariff pressure.

“Prime Minister Modi did what is appropriate to respond to a cordial tweet, but from this, we cannot conclude that we are going to see any early end to this, what I call ‘Triple T’ — Trumped-up Trump Tariff. Trumped-up means without basis. But at the same time, it is reasonably clear that President Trump has started to realise that his original expectation that India would surrender when he threatened an additional 25 per cent. He has started to realise that he was wrong," the former diplomat said.

He underlined that while New Delhi is open to friendly relations and mutual trade, any unilateral decisions or coercive steps cannot be forced upon India.

“What he has to realise is that India is India. India is a civilisational state. India cannot be a meek camp follower of any other country. India wants to be friends with everyone and wants to do business, but India cannot take dictation," Fabian added.

Trump Walks Back ‘Lost India’ Post

Earlier on Friday, Trump walked back his earlier remark on Truth Social that India had been lost to China and told reporters at the White House that he did not believe that had happened. He also said that there is “nothing to worry about" in the India-US relations.

When asked by ANI, “Are you ready to reset relations with India at this point?", Trump said, “I always will. I’ll always be friends with (PM) Modi. He’s a great Prime Minister. I’ll always be friends, but I just don’t like what he is doing at this particular moment. But India and the United States have a very special relationship. There is nothing to worry about. We just have moments on occasion."

Ashesh Mallick

Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes...Read More

Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes...

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