Donald Trump: A clown in the making

The steps taken by India to counter US President Donald Trump's 50 per cent tariff on Indian exports, including an additional 25 per cent, will provide relief and hope to the country's 1.4 billion Indians. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs are taking swift steps to prove that the Indian people are not going to give in to Trump's whims. The additional tariffs announced by Trump on India, the emerging world's third-largest economy, remain amorphous and reek of a tyrannical mindset. Trump was angered by India's unwillingness to comply with his insistence that India should not buy oil from Russia.

Along with this, India contested Trump's dubious intervention in the standoff with Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack. Narendra Modi's unabashed rejection of Trump's ridiculous claim to take credit for Operation Sindoor hampered the US President’s vanity. Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi should have sided with national interest at this juncture, but unfortunately, his decisions are more political, barely touching prudence.

Israel, Pakistan, and Cambodia have already demanded that Trump be awarded the Nobel Prize. Trump expected a favourable stance from India, but to no avail. Imposing such a huge tariff on our products will naturally affect our exports. We will not be able to compete with the products of many other countries that enter the United States at relatively low tariffs. This will effectively lead to a decrease in demand for Indian products. Economists point out an expected decline of 6 to 6.4 per cent in our exports. Trump's cunning tactic is also intended to squeeze India economically. The megalomaniac President expected the Indian leadership to grovel in front of him in such a predicament.

Much to his chagrin, the Indian government responded by sending National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to Russia, followed by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit to Russia, and announcing Prime Minister Modi’s impending visit to former foe China.

India's move to enter into more trade agreements with countries in Europe and Asia is an antidote to Trump's arrogance. The shower of wrath by Trump on a good friend is bound to ricochet in the coming days. Donald Trump is keeping his eyes fixated on the Nobel Peace Prize because the president knows well that he is not coming back to the Oval Office in 2028.