 "Trump for the first time in weeks, didn't take the credit for stopping the military conflict between India and Pakistan. File image/Reuters")
It’s not often one witnesses Donald Trump making a U-turn on his statements. But on Wednesday (June 18), the US president shifted his tone and admitted that it was India and Pakistan that decided to end hostilities in May.
On Wednesday, Trump speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after hosting a lunch for Pakistan’s Army chief General Asim Munir said he was “so happy that two smart people… decided not to keep going with that war. That could have been a nuclear war. Those are two nuclear powers, big ones, big, big nuclear powers, and they decided that”.
This is quite a reversal from the past where the US president has taken credit for the de-escalation between India and Pakistan — Trump has boasted at least 14 times that he had brokered the peace. In some instances, he claimed that he had used trade with the US as a tool to get the two countries to hold fire.
But how did we get there? Was it PM Modi’s fact-check that led to Trump’s change in stance or was it Munir’s lunch?
Trump’s change of heart
After weeks of loudly boasting of brokering peace between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan , Trump did a 180, crediting the two countries’ leaders directly for ending the hostilities.
In remarks to the media following his lunch with Pakistan’s Army Chief General Asim Munir, Trump praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and General Munir as “very smart people”, adding that they chose not to turn the conflict into a “nuclear war”.
“They were both here, but I was with Modi a few weeks ago. He was here actually, but now we speak to him. And I’m so happy that two smart people, plus you know, people on their staff too, but two smart people, two very smart people decided not to keep going with that war. That could have been a nuclear war. Those are two nuclear powers, big ones, big, big nuclear powers, and they decided that,” Trump was quoted as saying.
This is the first time in weeks when Trump did not take credit for stopping the military conflict between India and Pakistan. In fact, since May 10 — the day India and Pakistan stopped firing at each other — the US president has claimed at least 14 times that he had brokered the peace. On multiple occasions, Trump has said that he “helped settle” the tension between the two neighbouring countries and claimed America would do a “lot of trade” with them if they stopped the conflict.
Earlier, speaking at the White House’s Oval Office during a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trump had said, “If you take a look at what we just did with Pakistan and India. We settled that whole, and I think I settled it through trade.”
Prior to this, while on his way back from his Saudi Arabia visit, Trump had said on board Air Force One, “I didn’t like what was happening. And you know, they’re two very strongly nuclear countries, with very, very powerful amounts of nuclear, too, serious stuff…
“And I did a good job. (Secretary of State) Marco (Rubio) did a good job, and (Vice President) JD (Vance) did a good job. We sort of were a team. And we, I think, convinced them to let’s have peace and let’s go and make trade deals. If we can make trade deals, we like that much better than nuclear weapons. And that was a great thing.”
He also told a crowd of US military personnel in Qatar, “I don’t wanna say I did but I sure as hell helped settle the problem between Pakistan and India last week, which was getting more and more hostile and all of a sudden you’ll start seeing missiles of a different type and we got it settled. I hope I don’t walk out of here and two days later find out that it is not settled, but I think it is settled.”
Modi disputes Trump’s version of events
Interestingly, Trump’s reversal comes hours after he asserted that he “stopped the war” between India and Pakistan. This claim came despite the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with the US president and told him that India has never accepted mediation, does not accept it, and will never do so in the future.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri revealing details about the phone call, which was held on Tuesday night, said that Modi clarified India’s position to Trump. “PM Modi clearly told President Trump that during this entire incident, at no time, at any level, were there any talks on issues like India-US trade deal or mediation between India and Pakistan through America,” said Misri. “PM Modi stressed that India has never accepted mediation, does not accept it, and will never accept it.”
Furthermore, Misri in his remarks said that PM Modi also reiterated the statement, “Goli ka jawab gole se” to the US president. The official added that US president also invited Modi to stop over in the US. However, due to prior engagements, PM Modi had to decline the offer.
Lunch with Pakistan’s Munir
Some observers also note that Trump’s change in stance coincides with his lunch with Munir and believe that meeting with the Pakistani general may also have had something to do with Trump’s change in stance.
When asked the purpose of meeting with Munir, Trump said, “Reason I had him here was I wanted to thank him for not going into the war and ending it.”
The US president further added that he was honoured to meet Munir and the two had discussed Iran, which he said Pakistan knew better than most. “They (Pakistani leadership) know Iran very well, better than most. They’re not happy about anything. It’s not that they’re bad with Israel. They know them both actually, but they probably, maybe, they know Iran better, but they see what’s going on and he agreed with me,” he told reporters.
The White House also confirmed that the meeting was held in recognition of Munir’s remarks lauding Trump’s role in halting a potential escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Reasons for Trump doubling down on India-Pak claims
But why is it that Trump until Wednesday continued to boast of his role in brokering peace between India and Pakistan?
Most Trump analysts believe that it’s part of a larger pattern with John Bolton, Trump’s former national security advisor, telling ANI, “It’s nothing personal to India. This is Donald Trump, who takes credit for everything.
“It’s typical of Trump because he would jump in before everyone else could take credit. It may be irritating, probably is irritating to many people, but it’s nothing against India, it’s just Trump being Trump.”
It’s also an attempt by the US president to reassert his image of a peacemaker. While campaigning for the US presidential elections in 2024, Trump had vowed to immediately stop the Ukraine and Russia war once he won. However, that promise remains unfulfilled. Furthermore, the Israel-Hamas war still rages on and he hasn’t been able to stop it.
Some also note that Trump’s claims were his way of expressing his displeasure with India. As the Economic Times wrote that Trump may have view India’s rebuttals as a personal affront rather than a routine diplomatic clarification. This may have bruised his ego, propelling him to restate the claim ever more publicly and forcefully.
With inputs from agencies