'US would weaken India when it rises': Top economist says it will undercut Delhi, just like Russia, China

If India becomes truly successful, the United States will try to weaken it—just like it did with Russia and now does with China. That was the stark warning delivered by U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs in a wide-ranging interview with Tucker Carlson, where both agreed that America’s challenge to rising powers is not about ideology, but about hegemony.

“Someday when India succeeds, the U.S. would want to weaken India,” Sachs said. Carlson replied without hesitation: “Probably sooner rather than later.”

Sachs, a longtime critic of U.S. foreign policy, argued that Washington’s strategic impulse is to undercut any country that grows large enough to challenge its global dominance. “Russia is big, Russia is powerful, and for that reason alone, the U.S. would oppose Russia. Just like it opposes China,” Sachs said. “A big power will generate a reaction from the United States.”

He sees a similar future path for India if it continues its economic ascent. Sachs has previously predicted India will surpass the U.S. as the world’s second-largest economy within 10 to 15 years—and possibly take the top spot later this century.

While he praises India’s rise—calling its economic takeoff “remarkable”—Sachs urges it to resist becoming a pawn in America’s geopolitical rivalry with China. “The U.S. wants to use India to beat up China,” he warned. “Don’t play the American game… India is too big for a U.S. game.”

He’s particularly critical of India’s participation in U.S.-led alliances like the Quad, arguing that such groupings primarily serve American interests and could compromise India’s long-term autonomy. Sachs advises India to maintain balanced relations with all global powers—including China and Russia—and to pursue strategic independence, not alignment.

Citing America’s record of abandoning allies when convenient, Sachs cautioned: “Friendship with the U.S. can be dangerous.”