The US under Donald Trump is a whirlwind of contradictions and flip-flops. This has kept allies and adversaries guessing ever since he has assumed the Oval Office. For India, this unpredictability demands a quiet resolve while negotiating with a team that has some other game plan that they are prioritising over longstanding partnerships with allies.
Trump’s soundbites, tweets, and policy pivots are not just noise; they look like something that India must dissect with surgical precision. Trade tariffs and diplomatic arm-twisting are hogging the limelight, true. But at the same time the US is cozying up to Pakistan; it has maintained pin-drop-silence on the fate of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh; it is meddling in Myanmar; and it is continuing its tacit support for evangelical missions in India’s Northeast.
All these reveal a stark truth. And that is, America doesn’t give a damn about India’s concerns. It’s all about staving off its own decline, countering the Russia-India-China (RIC) axis, and clinging to its fading hegemonic throne.
Crypto honeymoon with Pakistan
The US’s recent embrace of Pakistan via a high-stakes cryptocurrency deal is a glaring red flag. World Liberty Financial (WLF), a decentralized finance platform backed by Trump’s family, inked a deal with the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) in April 2025, just days after the Pahalgam terror attack.
The timing reeks of opportunism. Former US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan did not mince words. He accused Trump of tossing US-India ties overboard for his family’s financial gains in Pakistan. WLF, with Trump’s sons and son-in-law holding a 60% stake, stands to rake in millions from this blockchain venture, which includes stablecoin development and asset tokenization.
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This deal, formalized amidst India-Pakistan tensions post-Operation Sindoor, suggests the US is willing to sideline India’s security concerns to bolster its economic interests. Was that Trump-push to mediate between India and Pakistan driven by peace, or profit? The answer is clear.
A certain section of the observers thinks that there could be another broader agenda too: this push for crypto is to phase out the dollar’s dominance before America’s own economic chickens come home to roost. Pakistan, as a willing pawn, needs to be safeguarded at all costs. Alienating so-called Strategic Partner, India is of little consequence thus.
Jamaat and Rohingya – two convenient blind-spots
Then there remains Bangladesh: a cauldron where the US seems perfectly at home. The rise of Jamaat-e-Islami and radical Islamic fundamentalism, the rape-murder of thousands of minority Hindus, seem to have Washington’s tacit approval. Any other reasons why US personnels are being spotted all over Bangladesh, with their selective concern for the Rohingyas?
The US’s silence on Jamaat and assorted radical groups’ domestic terrorism over the Hindus, and their enthusiasm to push the Rohingya cause signal an absolute willingness to overlook India’s concerns about instability on its eastern flank. For India, an Islamist fundamentalist Bangladesh is not just a nuisance, it is a security threat. Yet, the US appears more interested in maintaining its magnanimity with these Islamists.
Meddling in Myanmar
Across the border in Myanmar, the US is increasing interference in the junta’s affairs. It is here that the “humanitarian corridor” for Rohingyas finds its substance. The idea is to push these radicals (and a lot of them have now finished their trainings with the ISI) back from Bangladesh into a region (Rakhine, Myanmar), where there is Chinese and Indian strategic interests. Across the other end, Washington is also moving to weaken the Myanmar junta through sanctions, and covert support for the different armed opposition groups scattered all over.
For India as well as for China, a stable Myanmar is critical, as was a stable Bangladesh. With Bangladesh a dumpster-fire these days, it looks like now Uncle Sam is planning the same for Myanmar. So, this is not about democracy; this remains more about keeping both its “adversary” (China) and “partner” (India) preoccupied and weak.
Northeast India as an evangelical playground
Closer to home, the Northeast remains a soft target for US and EU-funded evangelical missions. These groups, flush with foreign cash, are not just spreading faith; they are reengineering the sociocultural and political landscape in the region, while pushing for ethnic and separatist tensions.
American indifference to India’s concerns about this external influence is telling. Plain speak? This is power projection through religion. The Northeast is a convenient scapegoat. And, India’s sovereignty or stability does not matter where Washington’s agenda is concerned.
Hegemony over Harmony
Once you shave-off the trimmings, at its core, the US under Trump is focused on three things: a) preserving its economic dominance, b) countering the RIC bloc, and c) delaying its decline as the global hegemon. Under this focus, allies are nothing more than vassals.
They are useful when convenient, dispensable when not. Trumpian flip-flops, his crypto dalliance with Pakistan, and selective blindness to Bangladesh and Myanmar all point to a singular truth: America’s strategic calculus is prioritizing its own dominance; nothing else matters.
Play with your eyes wide open
We cannot afford to be starry-eyed about our US ties. Every trade negotiation, every diplomatic exchange, must be approached with a hawk’s vigilance. Trump’s tweets and off-the-cuff remarks are not just bluster. These are small windows into a mercurial policy landscape.
India must parse these signals, anticipate flip-flops, and prioritize its own interests. Strengthening ties within the RIC framework, accelerating its own digital finance strategy, and fortifying its Northeast against both Bangladeshi Islamists and Western evangelism are non-negotiable. Everything else can follow later.
This is a high-stakes chess game; we must clear our eyes and steady our hand. Donald Trump, or the other allied institutions with the US do not care about anyone else’s discomfort. They care about saving their hegemony. For America, the allies are just bigger pawns.
