“Trump had a very good relationship personally with Modi. I think that's gone now. It’s a lesson to everybody, and a good personal relationship may help at times, but it won't protect you from the worst,” Bolton said, cautioning other leaders, including UK PM Keir Starmer.
Strained phase in India-US relations
Bolton’s remarks come at a time when India-US ties are reportedly experiencing one of their worst phases in two decades, strained by Trump’s tariff policies and his administration’s frequent criticism of New Delhi. In a social media post linked to his interview, Bolton accused the Trump White House of “setting US-India relations back decades” by pushing Modi closer to Russia and China, while Beijing portrays itself as a viable alternative to American leadership.
Concerns over strategic shifts
Bolton argued that Trump’s treatment of India undermined years of bipartisan US efforts to align New Delhi more closely with Washington against China. “That has been reversed. I think it can be reversed again, but it’s a very bad moment,” he observed.
He further said that tariffs imposed on India over its import of Russian oil amounted to an “unforced error”, driving New Delhi closer to the Beijing-Moscow axis.
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