Trump’s Executive Blitzkrieg: How India Will Pay for America’s ‘Golden Age

There’s a saying in politics: When America sneezes, the world catches a cold. But when Donald Trump takes office (again), it’s not just a sneeze—it’s a Category 5 hurricane of executive orders, policy reversals, and late-night Twitter rants (or whatever platform he’s using now).


Barely 100 hours into his new presidency, Trump has already signed hundreds of executive actions, gleefully tearing through Biden-era policies like a kid unwrapping Christmas presents.


The White House, with its characteristic flair for grandiosity, has dubbed this frenzy of decisions the launch of “America’s Golden Age.” What this means in practice, however, is less about prosperity and more about a return to the chaotic, isolationist, and often reckless style of governance that marked Trump’s first term.


For India, the optics are deceptively positive. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was at Trump’s inauguration, the Quad foreign ministers met with much fanfare, and Trump made time for a warm, carefully choreographed call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But scratch beneath the surface, and the reality is far less comforting. Modi, ever eager to portray himself as a global statesman, will no doubt revel in the symbolism of these engagements, but symbolism does not pay the bills, and Trump’s policies are shaping up to be as economically brutal for India as they are politically convenient for Modi.


Take immigration. Trump’s obsession with border security and his paranoia over “foreign invasions” have been repackaged into a fresh set of restrictions that will make life miserable for Indian workers seeking opportunities in the United States. H-1B visa regulations are being tightened once again, with a renewed focus on keeping American jobs for Americans, a slogan that sounds vaguely noble until one realizes that it really means fewer jobs for Indian tech professionals and a blow to India’s IT industry. The Modi government has responded with its usual combination of bluster and submission, insisting that it will take back any illegal Indian immigrants—just as long as they can be “verifiably Indian.” The sheer desperation of this stance is hard to miss: a government that boasts about its global ambitions is now reduced to nervously counting how many of its citizens might be deported.


And then there’s Trump’s economic nationalism, which once again translates to a direct hit on India’s pockets. American businesses are being incentivized to bring their manufacturing back home, which means less investment in Indian industries and higher costs for Indian exporters. Trump’s tax policies, carefully disguised under his usual bluster about making America great, will punish Indian companies while rewarding American billionaires. Modi, of course, will not mention this. He will likely arrive in Washington later this year, all smiles and bear hugs, ready to nod enthusiastically at whatever deal Trump puts in front of him, even if it means India ends up paying more for the privilege of doing business with America.


But perhaps the most dangerous illusion in this entire saga is the idea that India is somehow benefiting from Trump’s foreign policy reset. Modi, in his relentless pursuit of global legitimacy, has thrown India fully into the Quad alliance, embracing the idea that India and the U.S. are strategic partners in containing China. This, too, is a mirage. Trump’s version of partnership is a one-way street: India will be expected to take on more military and diplomatic burdens, possibly even escalating tensions with China, while the U.S. continues to hedge its bets. If history is any guide, America’s commitment to its allies is conditional at best, transactional at worst, and Modi would do well to remember that before he signs up for another round of “strategic cooperation” that benefits Washington far more than it does New Delhi.


The irony in all of this is that Modi, who loves to project himself as a nationalist leader, seems utterly unbothered by the ways in which Trump’s policies undermine India’s economic and geopolitical standing. Under his leadership, India has increasingly become a country that takes orders rather than sets them, a nation whose leader is more concerned with photo ops than policy substance. This is a prime minister who will travel across the world to attend summits, shake hands, and deliver flowery speeches about India’s rise, only to return home having secured little more than empty promises and a few weapons deals that benefit foreign manufacturers more than Indian defense capabilities.


It is this hollow diplomacy, this performative statesmanship, that will ultimately cost India the most. The Trump-Modi relationship, built on a shared love for grandstanding and an aversion to critical questioning, is not a partnership of equals—it is a carefully managed spectacle in which Modi plays the eager admirer and Trump plays the benefactor. And like all such relationships, it comes at a price. India will pay that price in lost jobs, higher taxes, weakened negotiating power, and a foreign policy increasingly dictated by Washington’s interests rather than its own.


So when Modi makes his grand visit to Washington later this year, when the cameras capture yet another embrace between the two leaders, and when the headlines are filled with talk of strengthened ties and mutual respect, remember this: Trump’s America is not in the business of friendship. It is in the business of making deals that serve America first and foremost. And under Modi’s leadership, India has never been better at signing those deals—no matter the cost.

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