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The Wall Street Journal

A US-India Repair Attempt

walter_russell_mead
walter_russell_mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship
walter russel mead wall street journal
Caption
President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet in the Oval Office on February 13, 2025. (Getty Images)

What a summer. The Trump administration slapped punitive tariffs of 50% on India while administration officials and MAGA influencers vilified America’s most important potential long-term partner in the Indo-Pacific. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a highly publicized visit to a Chinese-sponsored anti-American political summit.

Fortunately, September seems to have brought a change in the weather.

President Trump came within hailing distance of an apology on Friday when he called Mr. Modi a great prime minister and praised the special relationship between the world’s two largest democracies. New Delhi was quick to respond, with Mr. Modi praising his good friend Donald Trump and pointedly skipping a virtual Brics trade summit called by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Read in The Wall Street Journal.