Washington: Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton has declared that Donald Trump’s once-close personal relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has collapsed, warning world leaders not to assume that friendship with the American leader offers lasting protection. Bolton’s sharp critique comes as India-US relations sink into one of their most strained phases in decades, deepened by Trump’s tariff war, his repeated criticism of New Delhi, and the perception that Washington is driving India closer to rival powers Russia and China.
Speaking in a recent interview with British broadcaster LBC, Bolton noted that Trump tends to equate international diplomacy with his personal rapport with other heads of state. “If he has a good relationship with Vladimir Putin, he believes the US has a good relationship with Russia. That’s obviously not the case,” he said. Applying this logic to India, Bolton remarked: “Trump had a very good relationship personally with Modi. I think that’s gone now, and it’s a lesson to everybody … a personal relationship may help at times, but it won’t protect you from the worst.”
Bolton, who served as Trump’s NSA during his first administration and has since become one of his most outspoken critics, argued that the White House’s actions have set US-India relations back by decades. In a social media post following the interview, he warned that the current administration has “pushed Modi closer to Russia and China,” with Beijing successfully positioning itself as a rival partner to Washington. He also described Trump’s tariffs on Indian imports and his punitive approach to India’s purchase of Russian oil as “unforced errors” that risk undoing bipartisan US efforts over the years to align New Delhi more firmly against Beijing.
While Bolton sounded alarm about the fragility of personal diplomacy, other veteran US officials have issued a more constructive appeal, urging Washington to restore balance in its relationship with India. In a joint article for Foreign Affairs, Jake Sullivan, who served as National Security Adviser under Joe Biden, and Kurt M. Campbell, former US Deputy Secretary of State, argued that the India-US partnership is too strategically important to be derailed by tariffs, theatrics, or short-term trade disputes.
The two officials described the present moment as “unprecedented discord” in bilateral ties, citing Trump’s 50 percent cumulative tariff on Indian imports and his growing warmth toward Pakistan, including a recent White House meeting with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir. Days after that meeting, Washington announced a trade deal with Islamabad, even as it slapped a 25 percent duty on Indian goods. Such developments, Sullivan and Campbell warned, risk alienating India at a time when it is vital to maintain momentum in the Indo-Pacific against China’s assertiveness.
They pointed out that Washington must remember why India emerged as a vital partner in the first place: bipartisan support in the US, a shared interest in deterring Chinese expansionism, and deepening collaboration in technology, defense, and energy. Recalling milestones such as President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s landmark civil nuclear agreement, and more recent joint ventures in AI, biotechnology, and aerospace under Biden and Modi, the two argued that the trajectory of cooperation cannot be allowed to collapse.
Sullivan and Campbell also warned against reverting to an “India-Pakistan” framework in American foreign policy. While acknowledging that the US has interests in Pakistan regarding counterterrorism and non-proliferation, they stressed that these are marginal compared to the broader strategic stakes with India. “Hyphenating India with Pakistan,” they cautioned, would only undercut Washington’s credibility in New Delhi and weaken cooperation across critical sectors.
Looking forward, the former Biden-era officials proposed anchoring ties in a new treaty-based alliance built on five pillars: security, prosperity, values, technology, and innovation. They suggested a ten-year action plan for collaboration in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, biotech, clean energy, quantum computing, and telecommunications, warning that failure to do so could mean “ceding the innovation edge to China.”
The contrast between Bolton’s pessimism and Sullivan-Campbell’s blueprint underscores the high stakes of the current moment. While Bolton sees Trump’s personal fallout with Modi as a cautionary tale of overreliance on personal chemistry, other experts argue that there is still time to salvage the partnership if Washington reorients its strategy. For New Delhi, the challenge lies in navigating its position between the US and its adversaries while ensuring that its growing global role is not compromised by shifting political winds in Washington.