Even as he showered praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as &ldquo;a very terrific man&rdquo;, US President Donald Trump once again mixed flattery with fire, reviving his threat of punitive tariffs and presenting a colourful account of his supposed role in mediating international conflicts.
Speaking to reporters after an open cabinet meeting in New York, Trump claimed he could use &ldquo;a very strong tariff system that&rsquo;s very costly to Russia or Ukraine, or whoever we have&rdquo;. He insisted his strategy could end the Ukraine war through economic pressure, calling it &ldquo;an economic war that&rsquo;s going to be bad, and it&rsquo;s going to be bad for Russia&rdquo;.
However, he quickly clarified, &ldquo;And I don&rsquo;t want that now. It&rsquo;s very, very serious, what I have in mind if I have to do it.&rdquo; Trump also set yet another deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine&rsquo;s Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet, extending it until September 5.
From Ukraine, Trump veered into the India-Pakistan conflict, recounting a dramatic story of how he supposedly intervened after the Pahalgam terror attack, claiming to have prevented a &ldquo;nuclear war&rdquo;.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m talking to a very terrific man, Modi of India,&rdquo; Trump recalled, suggesting that both India and Pakistan were pressured by him to step back. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to make a trade deal. You&rsquo;re gonna have a nuclear war. Or we&rsquo;re going to put tariffs on you that are so high your head&rsquo;s going to spin.&rdquo;
Trump even called on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to back his claim: &ldquo;You were there. Within about five hours, it was done.&rdquo;
India, however, has firmly rejected Trump&rsquo;s claims of mediation. New Delhi maintains that any ceasefire agreements with Pakistan have been bilateral and direct, with no third-party involvement. PM Modi has reportedly made this clear to Trump in earlier conversations.
While US President continues to link tariffs, wars, and personal diplomacy in a single narrative, India remains cautious, particularly as Washington drafts measures that could raise tariffs on Indian imports by 25 per cent over Russian oil purchases.

Trump’s Modi Praise With Tariff Warning Twist

Trump hails PM Modi as “terrific man” but renews threat of harsh tariffs on India

Trump’s Modi Praise With Tariff Warning Twist

Trump hails PM Modi as “terrific man” but renews threat of harsh tariffs on India

August 27, 2025 | 09:55 IST