A new day, a new social media post from Donald Trump. This time the US President has struck a conciliatory note in his otherwise rancorous discourse on India. Now, Trump says India and the US will resume trade talks. He has also praised PM Modi, referring to him as a friend. PM Modi reciprocated the gesture and called India and the US “close friends and natural partners. Both said they looked forward to talking to each other. But here lies Trump’s hypocrisy. Even as he speaks of his friendship with PM Modi, a report says Trump has asked the European Union to slap up to 100% tariffs on India to penalise it for its Russian oil purchases.Can India trust Trump? What do Trump’s latest utterances really mean? Are we going to see PM Modi and Trump talk soon? Will there be an India-US trade deal? Earlier, TOI spoke to Daniel Markey, Senior Fellow at the Stimson Centre, who said Trump’s America First strategy is fast turning into an America Alone policy. In his view, this maybe the “darkest moment” in India-US ties in a long time.
