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India was meant to win under Trump 2.0. So what happened?
The adults are back but can they save US-India ties from Trump?
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Indian PM Narendra Modi (left) and US President Donald Trump in 2025. For decades, India moved cautiously towards the US, testing whether Washington’s commitment would endure across administrations.
PHOTO: REUTERS
India was supposed to be among the biggest geopolitical beneficiaries of a second Trump presidency. With Washington doubling down on strategic competition with China during US President Donald Trump’s first term, New Delhi was widely seen as a natural partner of a more confrontational US foreign policy.
Instead, it is now grappling with an uncomfortable reality: the very administration that elevated ties with India is now undermining it.
