For decades, the United States and India have built a steadily deepening partnership, forged by shared strategic interests, economic ties, and growing defense cooperation. From nuclear agreements to joint military exercises and technological collaboration, the two democracies have carefully nurtured trust that took nearly 30 years to cultivate.
However, recent actions by the Trump administration have jeopardized this hard-earned trust—not through regular policy disagreements or normal diplomatic friction, but by actions and rhetoric that cut deeper than the usual strains in the U.S.-India relationship.
Research has noted that the harsh rhetoric from the Trump administration has coincided with escalating hate speech online targeting Indians and Indian Americans. The Center for the Study of Organized Hate documented a fivefold spike in anti-Indian posts on X in August 2025 compared with July 2025, fueled by the president’s comments and amplified by his supporters. “The United States is the epicenter of anti-Indian digital hostility,” said Raqib Hameed Naik, executive director of the organization.
Across India and beyond, many view President Trump’s rhetoric as a revival of the old pattern of condescension and distrust from the West. Even as India has moved closer to the United States in recent years, the administration’s aggressive policies and public rhetoric have reignited historical suspicions, forcing the Modi government to channel public sentiment into its U.S. engagements.