Trump threw away US-India ties over ego, some Pakistani money for his son: Ex-US ambassador

Former US ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, said US President Donald Trump threw away 40 years of close India-US ties over his ego and some Pakistani money that was paid to his son and his aide and golf buddy Steve Witkoff’s son. It was a blunder that China took advantage of, said the former envoy. 

“Our mismanagement of India, a major major counterweight against China – both on the manufacturing and technology side but also on the military side…The President of the United States has literally thrown away 40 years of meticulous, strategic planning and preparation, and enhancing and warming of relationship through Democratic and Republican administrations, even his first administration…” said Emanuel in an interview.

“He threw it all away because (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi would not say that the president deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for the ceasefire Modi believes he worked on with Pakistanis on their own. The President out of ego and some money from Pakistan that was paying both his son and Witkoff's son. This is a major strategic blunder that China has used for their advantage,” said the former envoy. 

The ‘Pakistani money’ he mentioned is a reference to the deal between Islamabad and cryptocurrency venture World Liberty Financial (WLF). The Trump family has a 60 per cent stake in WLF. Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr as well as brother-in-law Jared Kushner are stakeholders in WLF and have been looking for lucrative deals across the world.

The deal was signed between WLF and Pakistan Crypto Council. WLF sent Witkoff’s son, Zachary Witkoff, to Islamabad where he was feted by Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and army chief General Asim Munir. 

Despite a souring of ties between Washington and New Delhi, Trump has been calling PM Modi his friend, and lauding him for his leadership. The US imposed a 50 per cent tariff on India, including a 25 per cent penalty for buying Russian oil. In the latest, Trump said Modi assured him that India would stop buying oil from Russia. He acknowledged that India's shift won’t be immediate. “It's a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over soon,” Trump added.