Former US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has accused President Donald Trump of undermining America’s relationship with India to advance his family’s business interests in Pakistan. Speaking on the MeidasTouch YouTube channel, Sullivan described the move as “one of the most underreported aspects of Trump’s foreign policy,” framing it as a direct conflict of interest.
Sullivan noted that successive US administrations, both Republican and Democratic, had consistently worked to deepen ties with India in areas such as technology, talent, economics, and countering China’s influence. According to him, Trump abandoned this trajectory, prioritizing Pakistan due to business arrangements involving his family.
Reports have linked Trump’s relatives to Pakistan’s newly formed Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC). Just days after the Pahalgam attack, Trump’s family-backed company, World Liberty Financial (WLF), signed an agreement with the PCC. The venture, marketed with Trump as “Chief Crypto Advocate,” is majority-owned by DT Marks DEFI LLC, which is tied to Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Jared Kushner.
Islamabad also nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, a move that analysts argue underscores Trump’s favorable stance toward Pakistan. Meanwhile, his administration imposed steep 50 percent tariffs on Indian exports—justified publicly as a response to trade deficits and New Delhi’s Russian oil imports, but, according to Sullivan, privately linked to Modi’s rejection of Trump’s claims about mediating during the brief India–Pakistan conflict. By contrast, Pakistan faced only 19 percent tariffs.
Sullivan warned that such favoritism poses risks beyond South Asia, sending troubling signals to other allies like Germany, Japan, and Canada. “It only reinforces the idea that you must hedge against the US,” he said. “If our allies conclude they cannot rely on us, it is not in the best long-term interest of the American people.”
He also pointed out that while Trump launched a trade war with China, he later backed down after Beijing retaliated, highlighting inconsistencies in US policy. In another interview on The Bulwark Podcast, Sullivan said that global leaders now view the US as “the big disruptor” rather than a dependable partner, adding that “China has moved ahead of the United States in popularity in a whole lot of countries.”
The remarks gain weight at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Xi Jinping, and President Vladimir Putin have displayed closer alignment. With Pakistan aiming to establish itself as South Asia’s crypto hub through the PCC, Trump’s business-linked involvement has intensified concerns that US foreign policy is being compromised by private financial interests.
