‘Brahmins Profiteering’: Trump Aide Peter Navarro’s Bizarre New Attack on India Over Russia Oil Ties
White House trade advisor Peter Navarro has launched a fresh and bizarre attack on New Delhi, accusing Indian “Brahmins of profiteering at the expense of the people of the country” through its oil trade with Russia. In a contentious interview with Fox News, Navarro alleged that India is laundering Russian oil to bankroll Moscow’s war in Ukraine, while defending the Trump administration’s punitive 50% tariffs on Indian goods.
He warned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping was destabilizing the global order. “India is the maharaja of tariffs. They have the highest tariffs in the world… I don’t understand why he is getting into bed with Putin and Xi Jinping when India is the biggest democracy in the world,” Navarro stated.
His remarks coincided with PM Modi’s high-profile meetings with Putin and Xi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China. Navarro, the key architect of the tariff barrage, had previously dubbed the Ukraine conflict “Modi’s war,” alleging that India’s oil purchases funnel money directly into “Vladimir Putin’s war chest.”
India has strongly pushed back against such criticism, with government sources pointing out the “hypocrisy” of the West, noting that “Europe still buys Russian gas and the US still imports Russian uranium” while chastising New Delhi.
