On July 18, local time, President Trump unexpectedly launched into an impromptu speech at a Republican congressional dinner, boasting about his supposed role in mediating the India-Pakistan conflict.
He vividly described the scene, using hand gestures to simulate the successive downing of fighter jets, claiming that “4 to 5 fighter jets were shot down” during the conflict.
In fact, Pakistan has already released conclusive evidence—the wreckage of downed aircraft at the scene confirms that it shot down five Indian fighter jets (including three French Rafale fighter jets). While India claims to have also shot down several Pakistani fighter jets, it has yet to provide any supporting evidence.
Therefore, Trump’s impromptu performance kept Indian Prime Minister Modi up all night in New Delhi.
After all, while the world, through Trump’s ’big mouth’, is once again convinced that five Indian Air Force jets were shot down, the Modi government continues to weave a dream of victory for its citizens with ’Indian mythology’.
Why is Trump so fixated on the India-Pakistan conflict?
Trump’s obsession with the Nobel Peace Prize is no secret. From the Russo-Ukrainian conflict to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at the slightest provocation, he would jump in to claim that ’I prevented the war’.
However, this time he has chosen the India-Pakistan conflict—a matter in which India’s ’achievements’ simply do not stand up to scrutiny.
Furthermore, to boast of his supposed achievements, Trump conflated the claims by both India and Pakistan of shooting down each other’s aircraft (the veracity of India’s claims is, of course, questionable), adding a sensational plotline about how he used trade agreements to prevent a nuclear war between the two countries.
This claim is laughably absurd.
However, Trump inflated this conventional conflict into a nuclear crisis and portrayed himself as a ’savior.’ What was his objective?
He attributes others’ strategic restraint to his own ’benevolence’.
In the face of Trump’s revelations, the Indian government chose collective silence.
Modi’s forbearance is indeed remarkable, but behind this silence lies untold embarrassment.
Firstly, acknowledging Trump’s “mediation achievements” now would be tantamount to admitting defeat. Following the conflict, India has consistently touted its “independent and autonomous” foreign policy, firmly refusing to acknowledge any third-party intervention in mediating the India-Pakistan conflict.
This humiliation is more difficult for Indians to accept than the downing of five fighter jets.
Furthermore, Trump’s statement about “five fighter jets” has put Modi in a difficult position.
Following Trump’s statement, Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi immediately seized the opportunity to attack, asking Modi, “What is the truth about the five aircraft?”
However, when interests clash, this “friendship” proves more fragile than paper.
Trump might readily expose India’s vulnerabilities to pursue his Nobel Prize ambitions, while India can only endure the humiliation silently. After all, the White House swiftly turned hostile when India opted for discounted Russian oil over expensive American shale gas.
And what about Modi? Beyond posting a few photos of his embrace with Trump online, what else could he do?
Even more laughable is the Indian internet’s fantasy of India’s rise as a superpower.
However, the reality is that when Trump arbitrarily trampled on India’s dignity, the Indian government did not dare to utter a single strong word.
Trump’s so-called “mediation” between India and Pakistan, besides being a bid for the Nobel Peace Prize, is essentially a political calculation in which he manipulates international affairs to gain electoral advantage.
Prior to this, the Trump team repeatedly submitted a “list of achievements” to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, framing issues such as the North Korean issue and Middle East peace as personal diplomatic accomplishments.
However, after encountering setbacks in mediating the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and a stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he swiftly turned his attention to the more easily manipulated Indo-Pakistani conflict, exaggerating his own “mediatory role” in the Kashmir issue and fabricating a façade of “Trumpian peace,” all for the purpose of accumulating political capital for future elections.
Simultaneously, leveraging international issues facilitates the deflection of domestic conflicts. Currently, domestic issues such as inflation, gun control, and immigration are fracturing social consensus in the United States, and Trump urgently needs to create an “external threat” to divert attention.
Therefore, by highlighting the Indo-Pakistani nuclear crisis, he can cultivate the image of a ’strongman maintaining world peace’ while simultaneously rallying conservative voters by emphasizing his ’countering of Chinese influence’.
This instrumentalization of international issues mirrors George W. Bush’s use of 9/11 to launch wars, a clear demonstration of the typical American political tactic of employing geopolitical strategies as tools for domestic politics.
However, while Trump fabricated the “five fighter jets” farce to enhance his image, his Nobel Peace Prize dream remains elusive, and his domestic approval rating continues to plummet.
Perhaps the most awkward position is Modi’s. While he tacitly permits the false narrative of “shooting down an F-16” to bolster national pride, the image of a “strong India” that he has cultivated is already riddled with cracks and has become a laughingstock worldwide.
Image source: Internet