Top MAGA influencers have unleashed a torrent of hatred against India and Indians. White Nationalists have for a long time posted racist tweets to increase their X ad revenue. It is fairly recently that MAGA influencers closely associated to the Trump Administration have initiated selective targeting of Indians.
Influencers such as Jack Posobiec and Mike Cernovich, who are tied at the hip with the Trump Administration, have initiated a dedicate campaign targeting India. They want higher tariffs against India, higher than the 50% that is currently in place.
Trump lackey Jack Posobiec has been particularly active in demanding stronger action against India. He demanded that the USA stop issuing Visas to China, India and Mexico at the National Conservative Conference on September 4.
It’s time to name names
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) September 4, 2025
The biggest violators of our visa rules are China, India, and Mexico
And if they cannot abide by our rules, it’s simple:
Stop issuing visas to China, India, and Mexico pic.twitter.com/zjTWRFiWK6
It is pertinent to note that Posobiec’s rhetoric against India is almost the same as Lindsey Graham’s, a close Trump-aide that the MAGA movement detests. Peter Navarro, Trump’s favourite attack dog, retweeted one of Posobiec’s tweets on X. In that tweet, Posobiec had demanded that the White House impose tariffs on foreign remote workers, a move that would affect Indians significantly.
Cernovich has also been vocal against India in recent times. He claimed on Friday that multiple ‘MAGA’ accounts were caught posting in favour of India in lieu of payment.
ALSO READ: India’s Yen Gambit: Deepening Ties with Japan Amid Trump-Tantrums
While no evidence has been presented for the claims, lobbying is not illegal in the USA. Many other countries do the same since lobbying is an accepted legal practice as per US laws.
Multiple large so-called MAGA accounts were caught taking money to spread foreign propaganda, and attack Trump for tariffing India.
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) September 4, 2025
Possible criminal violation under FARA.
Post are being deleted in real time ….
Cernovich has also been retweeting posts from Posobiec demanding tariffs on call centers, which will affect India disproportionately. Charlie Kirk, another influential figure in the MAGA movement, has been making anti-India posts.
America does not need more visas for people from India. Perhaps no form of legal immigration has so displaced American workers as those from India. Enough already. We’re full. Let’s finally put our own people first. https://t.co/wcOsorvZFE
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 1, 2025
Tim Pool, a YouTuber, has called for 100% tariffs against India for the alleged influencer campaign. Tim Pool is not explicitly associated with the MAGA movement. However, their interests often align. Coincidentally, he was one of the American influencers who were duped into peddling Russian propaganda as part of an operation by Russian State Media employees.
Tim Pool wants Trump to impose 100% tariffs on India. He claims without evidence that India paid American influencers for tweets.
— Sensei Kraken Zero (@YearOfTheKraken) September 5, 2025
Even if India did do, lobbying is completely legal in the United States.
Know the funny part? Tim Pool was duped as part of a Russian operation to… pic.twitter.com/Au23iXOfAq
Tim Pool would later claim that he and the other influencers were the victims of the plot. He also said that he would assist American law enforcement in whichever way he could in their investigation.
Why the MAGA hate-binge against India makes India-US relations harder to fix
Anti-India racism on X has been mainstream for a long time. Until now, only anonymous X accounts were involved, even if they had a huge following. However, now, we have influencers with close ties to the Trump administration riling up anti-India sentiment on X. They might use more sophisticated language. But it is increasingly getting more difficult to deny that it is at least in part motivated by race-hatred.
Not just influencers, even high ranking Trump admin officials such as Peter Navarro have made bigoted comments against India that are likely motivated by racial reasons. For instance, Navarro claimed that it is Indian Brahmins profiteering from Russian oil trade, a claim devoid of facts and logic.
ALSO READ: Navarro’s Brahmin Jibe and The Brown Sahib Apologists
Under such circumstances, it is safe to assume that the Trump Administration is covertly encouraging influencers to make anti-India comments. Such open display of bigotry against Indians is bound to affect India-US relations.
More than a couple generations in India grew up under the shadow of USA openly backing Pakistan in the wars until 1971. Several more will now grow up watching the incendiary racist rhetoric against Indians. ‘Strategic Partnerships’ between two sovereign countries is extremely difficult, if not impossible, when their populations hate each other.
It is difficult to predict the future and a future American administration may well be able to pull things back from the brink. However, the mainstreaming of anti-India bigotry will continue to cast a dark shadow over India-US relations for years to come. More significantly, it will be difficult to put the racism back into the bag now that it is out in full public display.
