‘What’s going on with you and Pakistan?’: Trump claims for 40th time tariffs forced India truce
Speaking to the press at the White House, Trump said, “I am talking to a very terrific man, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. I said, ‘What’s going on with you and Pakistan?’ The hatred was tremendous.” He claimed tensions between the two nations were spiralling, and he had to intervene.
- Aug 27, 2025,
- Updated Aug 27, 2025 7:43 AM IST
Even as President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs hammer Indian exports, he has reignited controversy with claim that he personally stopped a nuclear war between India and Pakistan by threatening India with crippling trade penalties.
Speaking to the press at the White House, Trump said, “I am talking to a very terrific man, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. I said, ‘What’s going on with you and Pakistan?’ The hatred was tremendous.” He claimed tensions between the two nations were spiralling, and he had to intervene.
The president went on to assert that he gave India an ultimatum: “I said, I don’t want to make a trade deal with you. You guys are going to end up in a nuclear war. I said, call me back tomorrow, but we’re not going to do any deals with you, or we’re going to put tariffs on you that are so high, your head’s going to spin.”
According to Trump, his threats worked instantly. “Within about five hours, it was done,” he claimed. “Now maybe it starts again. I don’t know. I don’t think so, but I’ll stop it if it does. We can’t let these things happen.”
This marks at least the 40th time since May that Trump has publicly claimed he “brokered” peace between the two South Asian nuclear powers. In a May 10 post, he had first announced that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks “mediated by Washington.”
India has firmly denied any such mediation. Officials have repeatedly clarified that the ceasefire was a result of direct military talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs). PM Modi himself has told Parliament that no foreign country influenced India’s military response during Operation Sindoor.
Yet Trump doubled down again this week, saying: “The war with India and Pakistan was the next level — that was going to be a nuclear war. They already shot down seven jets — that was raging. I said, ‘You want to trade? We are not doing any trade or anything with you if you keep fighting. You’ve got 24 hours to settle it.’ They said, ‘Well, there’s no more war going on.’”
He grouped the India-Pakistan conflict with other global crises he claims to have resolved. “I have stopped all of these wars. A big one would have been India and Pakistan,” Trump said. “I stopped seven wars. Four were because I used tariffs and trade. I had tariffs and trade, and I was able to say, ‘If you go fight and want to kill everybody, that is okay, but I am going to charge you each a 100% tariff when you trade with us.’ They all gave up.”
Even as President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs hammer Indian exports, he has reignited controversy with claim that he personally stopped a nuclear war between India and Pakistan by threatening India with crippling trade penalties.
Speaking to the press at the White House, Trump said, “I am talking to a very terrific man, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. I said, ‘What’s going on with you and Pakistan?’ The hatred was tremendous.” He claimed tensions between the two nations were spiralling, and he had to intervene.
The president went on to assert that he gave India an ultimatum: “I said, I don’t want to make a trade deal with you. You guys are going to end up in a nuclear war. I said, call me back tomorrow, but we’re not going to do any deals with you, or we’re going to put tariffs on you that are so high, your head’s going to spin.”
According to Trump, his threats worked instantly. “Within about five hours, it was done,” he claimed. “Now maybe it starts again. I don’t know. I don’t think so, but I’ll stop it if it does. We can’t let these things happen.”
This marks at least the 40th time since May that Trump has publicly claimed he “brokered” peace between the two South Asian nuclear powers. In a May 10 post, he had first announced that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks “mediated by Washington.”
India has firmly denied any such mediation. Officials have repeatedly clarified that the ceasefire was a result of direct military talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs). PM Modi himself has told Parliament that no foreign country influenced India’s military response during Operation Sindoor.
Yet Trump doubled down again this week, saying: “The war with India and Pakistan was the next level — that was going to be a nuclear war. They already shot down seven jets — that was raging. I said, ‘You want to trade? We are not doing any trade or anything with you if you keep fighting. You’ve got 24 hours to settle it.’ They said, ‘Well, there’s no more war going on.’”
He grouped the India-Pakistan conflict with other global crises he claims to have resolved. “I have stopped all of these wars. A big one would have been India and Pakistan,” Trump said. “I stopped seven wars. Four were because I used tariffs and trade. I had tariffs and trade, and I was able to say, ‘If you go fight and want to kill everybody, that is okay, but I am going to charge you each a 100% tariff when you trade with us.’ They all gave up.”