Donald Trump just did a Thanos and helped assemble an unlikely alliance of the great civilizational powers of the East in China and India duly joined in by Russia which threatens to shake the world order. India and the US were always a natural partner despite animosities in the past which involves the infamous Nixon era. US is bound to ply by its interests and in an unseeming move to cow down its great rival China by trying to protype the great Tariff experiment with India, Mr. Trump has just blown the Lab experiment. Trump and Modi shared a great camaraderie up until now which seems to stand on shaky grounds with the latter not taking calls from the former as reported in the press after the June 17 call in the sidelines of the G7 summit. Trump also enjoys popularity in India primarily because of his no holds barred approach on issues like illegal immigration, terrorism & especially taking on the liberals and woke crusaders head on. Unfortunately, as the question of national interest arises, this is bound to make some of the same supporters angry who are at forefront and raising slogans again the US president and also threats of boycotting America Goods, which at this time seems bit farfetched, yet the bitter emotions have been sown. It will be interesting to see who will roll down first as US with Trump at helm won't give in that easily & will try to push its EU counterparts to apply pressure on the "RIC" bloc and primarily India. With Pakistan ready for subservience, US may use its traditional wartime lapdog useful to exert pressure on India primarily in matters related to Security, River sharing agreements, investments in defense where India would be keen to get US support. Also, with Pakistan reliant on Chinese equipment's and with seeming thawing Sino-Indian relations, it would be interesting to see how Pakistan will manage dual lip service at the same time. It would also be interesting to see how US plays the Bangladesh card which went through a violent shake up last year where US may have influenced the regime change. With China also seeking interest in Bangladesh, India may have chosen the right moment to warm its relations with China on key selective strategic aspects despite the recent and past tensions on the border. But all in all, as experts have pointed out, it's all up to Donal Trump. As Shyam Saran mentioned in a recent podcast, Mr. Trump seems to have a macro level chess moves already planned & it's only he who knows what the next move will be. Abhijit Iyer Mitra also put a significant point, which is, Trump has nothings to lose. Had this been his first term he might still be a little circumspect of some of the decisions. Even if MAGA movement carries on after 2029, it won't have its progenitor. Unless off course Mr. Trump pull up an unlikely trick out of his hat, to still influence the oval office post 2029.
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