Former US NSA Says Peter Navarro Tried To Spark Clash Between Trump And Modi During Trade Talks

<p>Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton has revealed that Peter Navarro, Donald Trump&rsquo;s former trade adviser, once attempted to provoke tensions between US President and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Bolton called Navarro&rsquo;s behavior a &ldquo;sideshow,&rdquo; advising both nations to focus instead on the &ldquo;real negotiators&rdquo; working on trade discussions, reports NDTV.</p>
<p>&ldquo;India can stay away from the threats and shouts on social media and just do the hard work to see if we can reach an accommodation here,&rdquo; Bolton said, stressing that while trade disputes are rarely resolved quickly, there is &ldquo;good faith on both sides.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Bolton didn&rsquo;t mince words when describing Navarro&rsquo;s combative style.</p>
<p>&ldquo;If you left Peter alone in a room and came back an hour later, he&rsquo;d be in an argument with himself,&rdquo; he remarked.</p>
<p>Navarro, known for his fiery rhetoric, has frequently criticized New Delhi&rsquo;s policies, particularly its continued purchase of Russian oil, which he once labeled &ldquo;blood money.&rdquo; He has branded India the &ldquo;Tariff Maharaja&rdquo; and warned that talks &ldquo;won&rsquo;t end well&rdquo; unless India shifts its stance on tariffs and other trade barriers. His posts on X (formerly Twitter) have also drawn fact-checks, which Navarro dismissed as attacks from India&rsquo;s &ldquo;keyboard minions.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Recalling a White House meeting where Navarro tried to steer Trump and Modi toward confrontation, Bolton said he had hoped the leaders would focus on larger strategic challenges, such as countering China.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Peter just wanted to talk about what he saw as unfair Indian trade practices,&rdquo; Bolton explained. &ldquo;Trade negotiators often have grievances, that&rsquo;s the nature of the field.&rdquo;</p>
<p>While acknowledging the importance of commerce between the two nations, Bolton urged both sides to view trade disputes in a broader context.<br />&ldquo;Between India and the US for the rest of this century, there are very significant existential questions,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Trade makes a huge difference to both economies, but we need to keep it in perspective.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Relations between Washington and New Delhi, painstakingly nurtured over two decades, suffered setbacks when Trump imposed steep tariffs, 25 percent at first, later doubled, in response to India&rsquo;s oil purchases from Russia. Recently, however, a thaw has appeared, with Trump and Modi exchanging cordial messages online.</p>
<p>According to Bolton, Trump often evaluates foreign policy through the lens of his personal rapport with other leaders. &ldquo;If he and Prime Minister Modi have a good relationship, everything is fine between India and the United States,&rdquo; Bolton said. &ldquo;Obviously, it&rsquo;s more complicated than that, but it&rsquo;s better than tweets or statements criticizing Modi.&rdquo;</p>
<p>On whether India&rsquo;s ties with China might strain its strategic partnership with the US, Bolton cautioned against losing sight of geopolitical realities. &ldquo;It depends on whether you believe China has abandoned its hegemonic ambitions across the Indo-Pacific. I don&rsquo;t think they have,&rdquo; he warned.</p>
<p>Bolton concluded that Washington and New Delhi must navigate their challenges calmly and privately to strengthen cooperation. &ldquo;If we take a low-key, non-public approach and work through these issues, the road ahead will be much smoother for both countries,&rdquo; he said.</p>