Washington/London: Former US National Security Adviser (NSA) John Bolton has claimed that the once-close personal equation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former US President Donald Trump has collapsed, sending a warning to world leaders who rely too heavily on personal diplomacy.
In a blunt interview with British media, Bolton said: “Trump had a very good relationship personally with Modi. I think that’s gone now. It’s a lesson to everybody, and a good personal relationship may help at times, but it won’t protect you from the worst.”
Bolton’s remarks come amid growing concerns that India-US relations are passing through their sharpest downturn in two decades, strained by Trump’s tariff policies, trade wars, and repeated criticism of New Delhi’s strategic choices.
He argued that Trump’s approach had effectively pushed India closer to Russia and China, undoing years of bipartisan US efforts to bring New Delhi into closer alignment with Washington against Beijing.
“That has been reversed. I think it can be reversed again, but it’s a very bad moment,” Bolton observed.
According to him, Trump’s tariff measures—particularly those linked to India’s continued purchase of Russian oil—were an “unforced error” that deepened New Delhi’s reliance on the Moscow-Beijing axis.
In a related social media post, Bolton accused the Trump White House of “setting US-India relations back decades”, while allowing Beijing to position itself as a more reliable partner for India.
The timing of Bolton’s critique is significant, coming just days before Trump’s planned UK visit from September 17–19. His comments also carry extra weight as Bolton himself faces FBI scrutiny, with recent searches conducted at his Maryland home and Washington office over the alleged mishandling of classified documents.
