After returning to office last year, Trump has shown interest in improving ties with Pakistan. Earlier this year, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir had also visited the White House, with the two gifting some rare earth samples to Trump.
Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin has harshly criticised President Donald Trump over his India policy and said that the citizens of the United States (US) are ‘flabbergasted’ by his actions. Rubin, who used to deal with issues regarding the Middle East during his Pentagon days, claimed that it was Pakistan’s ‘bribery’ and ‘flattery’ that derailed the ties between India and the US.
Rubin made the remark while speaking to news agency ANI in an interview.
“A lot of us are still flabbergasted at how Donald Trump has reversed US-India ties. Many people question what motivates Donald Trump. Perhaps it was the flattery of the Pakistanis. More likely, it was bribery on the part of the Pakistanis or their backers in Turkey and Qatar towards Donald Trump… This is one disastrous bribe that is going to saddle America with a strategic deficit for decades to come,” he said.
After returning to office last year, Trump has shown interest in improving ties with Pakistan. Earlier this year, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir had also visited the White House, with the two gifting some rare earth samples to Trump.
‘Putin’s India visit result of Trump’s gross incompetence’
In his interview, Rubin also criticised Trump for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent India visit. He said the visit was a result of Trump’s ‘gross incompetence’. He also noted that the US is being ‘hypocrite’ by ‘lecturing’ India for buying Russian crude, as he pointed out that even the US is doing trade with Russia.
The Trump administration has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India for buying Russian crude, accusing New Delhi of fueling Moscow’s war in Ukraine. India, however, has criticised the move and called it ‘unjust’, vowing to protect its national interests.
“It is being perceived in two different ways. If you’re Donald Trump, it’s being perceived through the lens of ‘I told you so’ that this embrace of India towards Russia is affirming what Donald Trump wants his spin to be. Because Donald Trump isn’t going to admit that he is the one at fault,” he told ANI.
“If you’re the 65 per cent of Americans who dislike Donald Trump, according to the recent polls, then what we are seeing now is the result of Donald Trump’s gross incompetence.”
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