Trump’s second closed-door meeting in three months with Pakistan’s self-styled field marshal — this time with the military-backed prime minister also in attendance — underscores both a sea change in the U.S. president’s approach to the Indian subcontinent since his family-controlled crypto firm struck a major deal with Islamabad, and his calculation that he can chip away at Indian interests without provoking any real pushback from New Delhi. Modi, for his part, has maintained a conciliatory line toward the Trump administration despite a string of punitive U.S. actions against India — from slapping 50% tariffs to axing the sanctions waiver for the Indian-operated Chabahar port and moving to effectively kill the H-1B program. The irony is hard to miss: Modi retaliated when the stakes were smaller, hitting back after Trump, in his first term, revoked India’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) trade status — which impacted $5.6 billion in exports — and imposed 25% tariffs on Indian steel and 10% on aluminum. New Delhi’s counter-tariffs then forced American exporters to lobby for relief, helping to set the stage for negotiations that led to a trade deal just before the 2023 G20 Summit in New Delhi. This time, however, Modi’s government has entered trade talks without building any countervailing leverage — even though leverage is the basic currency of international negotiations. The risk is not merely a lopsided deal but a reputation: that New Delhi has mastered the art of rewarding punishment. Why else would Trump assume he can keep tightening the screws on India, only to be met with a smile?

The “seven un-endable wars” Trump did not end: At the UN, Trump practically draped a Nobel medal around his own neck, boasting that he had “ended seven un-endable wars” that were supposedly “raging, with countless thousands of people being killed.” In reality, some of those “wars” never existed, others remain unresolved, and in one case Trump actually joined the fight. His peace résumé is less about ending wars than about rebranding chaos as triumph. ◘ Cambodia–Thailand: Trump’s bluster and trade threats went nowhere. It was ASEAN diplomacy — two hours of talks in Malaysia — that produced a ceasefire. The border dispute is still unresolved. ◘ Kosovo–Serbia: There was no war to end. Only in Trump’s imagination was there a war between Kosovo and Serbia, which, of course, he "ended" it. ◘ DRC–Rwanda: Washington staged a deal-signing between Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. On the ground, deadly fighting continues. Trump’s “peace” exists only in press releases. ◘ Pakistan–India: After Pakistan-backed terrorists massacred Indian tourists, Trump tried shielding Pakistan from Indian reprisals. What forced Pakistan to sue for peace were India’s devastating airstrikes on its air defenses and bases. India publicly denied any U.S. role, noting it had merely “suspended” its campaign. ◘ Israel–Iran: Rather than stop a war, Trump expanded one — greenlighting Israeli strikes, deploying U.S. military assets to blunt Iranian retaliation, and bombing Iran’s nuclear sites. This was not peace-making but war-making. ◘ Egypt–Ethiopia: They were never at war. Trump “ended” a conflict that didn’t exist. ◘ Armenia–Azerbaijan: A U.S.-brokered deal was trumpeted last month. But progress has stalled, with the deal in danger of unraveling.