White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has escalated his attacks on India by dragging social media platform X into the controversy, accusing it of enabling “foreign interference” in US domestic debates after it repeatedly fact-checked his claims on India’s energy trade with Russia.
Navarro, who has been vocally critical of New Delhi’s oil imports from Moscow, shared a screengrab of one of his earlier posts while lashing out at X’s community notes feature. He accused the platform of giving space to “Indian special interests” and ran a poll questioning whether X should treat such comments as “diverse viewpoints.” In response, X appended fact-checks to his posts, underscoring that India’s oil purchases were both legal and sovereign, carried out to ensure energy security, and did not violate international sanctions.
This fact-checking prompted Navarro to intensify his tirade, claiming that India’s trade amounted to “blood money” fueling the war in Ukraine. He asserted that India had not imported Russian oil in significant quantities before the 2022 invasion and accused New Delhi of profiteering at the expense of lives lost in the conflict. X swiftly countered again, pointing out the hypocrisy of the US stance, noting that Washington itself continues to import critical commodities from Russia, including uranium and minerals, even as it criticizes India.
Enraged, Navarro turned his attacks toward Elon Musk, alleging that the Tesla and X chief was enabling propaganda. “India buys Russia oil solely to profiteer,” he wrote, accusing the Indian government of spinning narratives while demanding, “Stop killing Ukrainians. Stop taking American jobs.” Once again, X intervened, reiterating that India’s trade decisions were within international law and highlighting the inconsistency of US criticism given its own continued commerce with Russia.
Navarro’s sharp rhetoric stands in stark contrast to the more measured approach taken by Donald Trump in recent days. The former president, despite having imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods earlier, has sought to reassure New Delhi, describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “friend” and emphasizing that US-India ties remain “special.”
Yet Navarro has shown no inclination to soften his stance, repeating his earlier characterizations of India as the “Maharaja of tariffs” and a “laundromat for the Kremlin.” In perhaps his most controversial remarks, he even claimed that “Brahmins are profiteering at the expense of Indian people.”
The Indian government has firmly dismissed Navarro’s allegations. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal rejected his statements outright, describing them as inaccurate and misleading. Despite this, Navarro’s persistent attacks and X’s repeated fact-checks have deepened the clash between his personal rhetoric, the platform’s interventions, and the Indian government’s strong rebuttals.
