Navarro tried to provoke Modi-Trump clash, claims ex-US NSA; says India should ignore the ‘sideshow’

Former United States National Security Adviser John Bolton - File Photo

Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton has made an explosive claim stating that Donald Trump’s former trade advisor Peter Navarro had once tried to provoke a confrontation between the US President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reports NDTV.

In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Bolton described the episode as “a sideshow that can be safely ignored” while “the real negotiators dealing with the trade talks between the two countries sit down.” According to Bolton, India “can stay away from the threats and shouts in social media and just do the hard work and see if we can't reach an accommodation here.”

“I’m not saying these issues are going to be easy or quickly resolved, but I think there will be good faith on both sides, and that’s the way to try and work through it,” he told NDTV.

Speaking about Navarro, Bolton quipped, “If you left Peter alone in a room and came back an hour later, he would be in an argument with himself.”

Navarro has been vocal over New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil, calling it “blood money.” He has labelled India the “Tariff Maharaja” and warned that it “won’t end well” for New Delhi if it does not “come around” on trade negotiations with the United States. He has also accused India’s “keyboard minions” of using “Community Notes” on X to “bury the facts” when his statements were fact-checked.

Bolton recalled that during one key meeting between Trump and Modi, he had hoped the two leaders would discuss strategic issues. “It was a meeting where I had hoped that the two leaders would talk about strategic issues, as dealing with China, dealing with enormous threats that we face through the rest of this century,” Bolton said. “And he just, Peter, just wanted to talk about what he felt were unfair Indian trade practices. Look, I have watched trade people do this. There are always grievances in trade issues. It is in the nature of the subject matter.”

He stressed that while trade between Washington and New Delhi is unquestionably important, “between India and the US for the rest of this century, there are very, very important existential questions.” Bolton added, “I’m not diminishing the importance of trade. It makes a huge difference in both economies. But let’s keep it in perspective.”

Relations between India and the United States have come under strain in recent months after President Trump imposed a 25% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods and later doubled it to 50% in response to New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil.

However Trump, earlier this week, signalled a thaw in the bilateral chill between the two countries. He said he feels “certain” that there will be "no difficulty" for the two countries to come to a “successful conclusion” in trade talks and he looks forward to speaking with his "very good friend” Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the coming weeks.

Responding to the post, Prime Minister Modi in a post on X on Wednesday expressed confidence that the ongoing negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the partnership between them. India and the US are close friends and natural partners, Modi said, adding that both countries are working to conclude the trade discussions at the earliest.

“So from Trump’s perspective, if he and Prime Minister Modi have a good personal relationship, everything is fine between India and the United States. Obviously it is much more complicated than that. But at least from the Trump perspective, it’s better than tweets and statements that are negative about Prime Minister Modi,” Bolton told NDTV.

On whether India’s wider relationship with China would affect its strategic ties with the United States, Bolton said it was essential to keep “reality” in mind. “I think it depends on whether you believe somehow China has changed its hegemonic aspirations all along its Indo-Pacific periphery. And I don’t think they have,” he said.

“The bigger picture is the hard strategic reality, not just the strange things Donald Trump does. So these realities remain. And I think if we consider them in a low-key, non-public fashion and work them out, that the course ahead will become a lot easier for both Washington and New Delhi,” Bolton added.