Indian-American Congress member Ro Khanna described US-India relations as the worst in the last three decades and said that even External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar would support the same. California Democratic Representative Khanna attributed US President Trump’s statements as the sole reason for the alleged break in relations.
Addressing the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum Leadership Summit in Washington, Khanna claimed on Monday that during his recent visit to China, India’s ambassador there told him that a generation of trust had been lost due to Trump’s policies.
“Now, you know I am not one to mince words. I just tell things as they are. US-India relations have been at their lowest point in the last 30 years,” Khanna said.
“Trump’s policies of going to war with Iran have been absolutely devastating. They have been absolutely devastating to gas prices in India. Talk to [external affairs minister] If you don’t believe me, Jaishankar said.
Khanna added: “I was in China, and the Indian ambassador there told me that President Trump has lost a generation of trust. If we do not speak the truth about the damage this president has done… then we are not living reality.”
The relationship between India and the United States was affected by the imposition of tariffs last year by President Donald Trump, who cited New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil as the main reason for the tariffs on Indian goods entering the United States.
“America that forgot the moral vision”
He criticized Trump’s policies of threatening Iran and Cuba and invading Greenland, saying that America under the US president has a “foreign policy based on strength doing what is right.”
Khanna said: “Now, America has forgotten that moral vision, and it has a foreign policy based on power that does what is right, and it does not only threaten Iran, threatens Cuba, and threatens to invade Greenland, and we were having dinner as if everything was normal.”
He said: “Who cares about partnerships with this and that when this president is literally destroying America’s leadership in the entire world.”
Khanna added: “The demagoguery around immigrants, the demagoguery of this president and the talk about the lack of immigrants coming to the United States. How can we sit here and not condemn his policies regarding what he did with student visas, while demonizing talent coming to the United States.”
The Democratic leader said Trump talks about US leadership in artificial intelligence, but 38 percent of the best AI research is of Chinese origin.
“Thirty-eight percent of top AI researchers are of Chinese origin,” Khanna said. “And 72 percent of them have foreign degrees. This is a president who doesn’t understand that we need to recruit talent, not exclude talent.”
Khanna described Trump as a “lame duck” and stressed that the Democrats will win the upcoming midterm elections and the 2028 presidential elections decisively.
