Davos 2026: 'Throw him a big fancy state dinner,' Fareed Zakaria on how India should handle Trump
WEF Summit Davos 2026: Honestly, India needs the trade deal more than America does, says Fareed Zakaria
- Jan 20, 2026,
- Updated Jan 20, 2026 9:27 PM IST
India should approach a second Donald Trump presidency with patience, foreign policy analyst Fareed Zakaria told India Today's Rajdeep Sardesai on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
"On a broad macro level, what India should recognise is - time is on its side. India has been doing extremely impressively economically," Zakaria said when asked how New Delhi should handle Trump. "And this is basically, at this point, fair to say that it is a 25-year story. India has been progressing."
The noted commentator said India's growth trajectory has remained consistent across governments. "If you look at the numbers under, the Manmohan Singh government and the Narendra Modi government, they're actually roughly the same, per capita GDP growth is about the same," he said.
According to Zakaria, India has now reached a scale that gives it resilience. "What's important now is there is a certain critical mass that has been reached," he said, pointing to the growth of government revenues. "And 20 years of growth means in 2018-19-20, for example, the government has revenues of really substantial size."
He said this has enabled sustained infrastructure expansion. "So you see that in the infrastructure build-out, and Modi has been a very good manager of the economy in most ways," Zakaria said. "So I think all of that, just keep doing, focus on modernising the economy, modernizing the society."
The analyst further said India's biggest structural advantage lies in the nature of its economy. "India has a huge advantage. Most of its economy is a consumption-based economy," he said. "Most people don't realize this is very rare. India, the U.S, and Indonesia are the only countries where consumption as a share of GDP is over 60%. In China, it's 30-35%. So all those countries rely on exports to fuel their economy. India doesn't. India relies on internal consumption."
At the same time, he said exports still matter. "Now, you do want exports because they are high-value, they support high-paying jobs, they take you to the frontiers of technology," Zakaria said.
He pointed to manufacturing gains as an example. "So continue trying to move in that direction as much as you can. The iPhone story in India is a remarkable story. From zero to now being the supplier of 45% of America's smartphones. Continue along those lines. Continue along, you know, EV lines," he added.
On foreign policy, Zakaria advised restraint in dealing with Donald Trump. "On the foreign policy side, have patience. Trump is volatile. Trump is idiosyncratic," he said. "And, to the extent you can, as I've often said, manage him. Try to humor him," Zakaria added, before laying out a deliberately vivid suggestion.
"The guy likes big fancy state dinners, throw him a big fancy state dinner at Rashtrapati Bhavan, which, by the way, is four times the size of Buckingham Palace," he said. "And, well, they had a few hundred horses out there. India could have a few thousand elephants."
"You could have the Maharajas and Maharanis. If the government is lacking any initiative or imagination, I would call the Ambanis and ask them how to throw a nice party that will impress the world," he said. "Play along with that. Because he likes being the king. So treat him like that."
On the uncertainty surrounding a trade deal, Zakaria said India should not see it as existential. "If you can get a good trade deal out of it, great. But, mostly have the patience to know that you're not going to die one way," he said. "This is not a make-or-break for India. It's not going to kill India."
The commentator argued that India, however, does need the United States more than the other way around. "The Indian economy has almost no impact on America. It's a pimple on the giant," he said, adding that Washington still plays a critical role in India’s economic ambitions.
"But America does have an impact, because America is going to be the force that helps India move up the value chain in terms of technology, in terms of economy, in terms of the kind of industries," Zakaria added. "India should be aspiring to be at the frontier of technology, not just doing cheap labor stuff. And to do that, you need a partnership with America."
India should approach a second Donald Trump presidency with patience, foreign policy analyst Fareed Zakaria told India Today's Rajdeep Sardesai on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
"On a broad macro level, what India should recognise is - time is on its side. India has been doing extremely impressively economically," Zakaria said when asked how New Delhi should handle Trump. "And this is basically, at this point, fair to say that it is a 25-year story. India has been progressing."
The noted commentator said India's growth trajectory has remained consistent across governments. "If you look at the numbers under, the Manmohan Singh government and the Narendra Modi government, they're actually roughly the same, per capita GDP growth is about the same," he said.
According to Zakaria, India has now reached a scale that gives it resilience. "What's important now is there is a certain critical mass that has been reached," he said, pointing to the growth of government revenues. "And 20 years of growth means in 2018-19-20, for example, the government has revenues of really substantial size."
He said this has enabled sustained infrastructure expansion. "So you see that in the infrastructure build-out, and Modi has been a very good manager of the economy in most ways," Zakaria said. "So I think all of that, just keep doing, focus on modernising the economy, modernizing the society."
The analyst further said India's biggest structural advantage lies in the nature of its economy. "India has a huge advantage. Most of its economy is a consumption-based economy," he said. "Most people don't realize this is very rare. India, the U.S, and Indonesia are the only countries where consumption as a share of GDP is over 60%. In China, it's 30-35%. So all those countries rely on exports to fuel their economy. India doesn't. India relies on internal consumption."
At the same time, he said exports still matter. "Now, you do want exports because they are high-value, they support high-paying jobs, they take you to the frontiers of technology," Zakaria said.
He pointed to manufacturing gains as an example. "So continue trying to move in that direction as much as you can. The iPhone story in India is a remarkable story. From zero to now being the supplier of 45% of America's smartphones. Continue along those lines. Continue along, you know, EV lines," he added.
On foreign policy, Zakaria advised restraint in dealing with Donald Trump. "On the foreign policy side, have patience. Trump is volatile. Trump is idiosyncratic," he said. "And, to the extent you can, as I've often said, manage him. Try to humor him," Zakaria added, before laying out a deliberately vivid suggestion.
"The guy likes big fancy state dinners, throw him a big fancy state dinner at Rashtrapati Bhavan, which, by the way, is four times the size of Buckingham Palace," he said. "And, well, they had a few hundred horses out there. India could have a few thousand elephants."
"You could have the Maharajas and Maharanis. If the government is lacking any initiative or imagination, I would call the Ambanis and ask them how to throw a nice party that will impress the world," he said. "Play along with that. Because he likes being the king. So treat him like that."
On the uncertainty surrounding a trade deal, Zakaria said India should not see it as existential. "If you can get a good trade deal out of it, great. But, mostly have the patience to know that you're not going to die one way," he said. "This is not a make-or-break for India. It's not going to kill India."
The commentator argued that India, however, does need the United States more than the other way around. "The Indian economy has almost no impact on America. It's a pimple on the giant," he said, adding that Washington still plays a critical role in India’s economic ambitions.
"But America does have an impact, because America is going to be the force that helps India move up the value chain in terms of technology, in terms of economy, in terms of the kind of industries," Zakaria added. "India should be aspiring to be at the frontier of technology, not just doing cheap labor stuff. And to do that, you need a partnership with America."