US President Donald Trump’s recent comments on India have drawn widespread attention online, wherein he described the country as incredible and noted that for years it seemed to have a new leader every year.
"I have watched India for years. It's an incredible country and every single year you would have a new leader. Some would be in there for a few months and this was year after year after year. My friend has been there now for a long time," the US President said during a media interaction in the Oval Office.
Fact-checking Trump’s statement
Although Trump suggested that India frequently gets new leaders, the facts say otherwise -- the country has had the same Prime Minister since 2014, and before that, Manmohan Singh led for ten years.
"Every single year, India have a new leader. Some would last for just a few months. But my friend Modi has been there for a long time," says Donald TrumpHe is confusing India with Pakistan here 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/M38ajegVbR
— Frontalforce 🇮🇳 (@FrontalForce) October 16, 2025
In reality, Trump’s comments seem to better describe Pakistan, where political leadership changes far more often.
India's had 3 PMs in 27 years. What is he talking about?— Akash Maniam (@ManiamAkash) October 16, 2025
Since its formation in the year 1947, Pakistan has had overall 29 Prime Ministers, with none of them managing to serve a complete term. Interestingly, in 1993, Pakistan witnessed five leaders take oath in just 12 months.
Most Pakistani Prime Ministers have lost power amid corruption scandals, military coups, forced resignations, or no-confidence votes -- as in the case of Imran Khan.
Pakistan’s first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, actually held office the longest -- for four years and two months. At the other end of the spectrum, Noorul Amin served the shortest term, lasting just two weeks in 1971. The current Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has been in power since 2024.
Trump is confusing Pakistani leadership with India. India has had only 2 Prime Ministers in the last 21 years. It's Pakistan which has a new leader every few years or months.— Shishir Kotian 🇮🇳 (@Shishir1807) October 16, 2025
Trump confuses India with Iran
In an attempt to repeat his assertion that he used tariffs to “stop the war” between India and Pakistan, Trump also made a verbal blunder during the interaction, confusing India with “Iran.”
Trump claimed that tariffs had been responsible for keeping peace globally, but in recounting an episode involving Pakistan, he appeared to confuse it with Iran.
“As an example, if you look at Pakistan and Iran,” he said. “I told them I was negotiating a trade deal with Iran, and Pakistan was going to be in line. Because of tariffs, they all wanted to negotiate much differently. Then I heard they were shooting at each other, and I said, ‘Are you guys going to go to war? Two nuclear powers we are thinking about.’”
Trump further claimed that he cautioned both nations, threatening to impose a “200 per cent tariff” and block them from doing business with the US should the conflict persist.
“Within 24 hours, the war ended. That would have been a nuclear war,” he claimed.
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