US President Donald Trump has once again reignited controversy over his version of events surrounding the brief India-Pakistan conflict earlier this year, revising his claims about the number of fighter jets downed and once more portraying himself as the peacemaker who prevented a nuclear war. Speaking at the America Business Forum in Miami, Trump told the audience that “eight planes were shot down” during the May 7–10 hostilities, which followed India’s Operation Sindoor targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
“You know, I was in the midst of a trade deal with both of them (India and Pakistan), and then I read on the front page of a certain newspaper... I heard they were going to war. Seven planes were shot down, and the eighth was really badly wounded... Eight planes were shot down, essentially,” Trump said, gesturing animatedly to applause from the audience.
It is not the first time the former president has made such claims. Over the past several months, Trump has repeatedly spoken about his “intervention” in the India-Pakistan standoff, though the details — particularly the number of aircraft allegedly shot down — have changed with each retelling. Initially, he said five jets were downed; later, he increased the figure to seven, and now, the count stands at eight. Trump has never clarified which country’s aircraft were hit, nor has he cited any corroborating evidence.
India and Pakistan have both maintained differing accounts of the three-day conflict. While India has acknowledged limited losses, it claims to have destroyed between eight and ten Pakistani fighter aircraft, including US-made F-16s and Chinese JF-17s, both on the ground and in the air. Pakistan, meanwhile, has denied such losses and accused India of exaggeration.
At the Miami event, Trump once again insisted that his personal diplomacy and trade pressure were what stopped a potential nuclear confrontation between the two neighbours. “I said, this is war, and they are going at it. And they are two nuclear nations. I said, ‘I am not going to make any trade deals with you guys unless you agree to peace,’” he told the crowd. According to Trump, both countries initially refused, but “within 24 hours,” he received calls from Delhi and Islamabad agreeing to a ceasefire.
“I said, ‘Thank you. Let’s do trade.’ Isn’t that great? Tariffs did that. Without tariffs, that would have never happened,” Trump boasted, drawing applause.
The former president has repeatedly cited his role in “stopping wars,” using it to bolster his image as a tough negotiator capable of leveraging trade and tariffs to achieve geopolitical peace. While Pakistan has publicly flattered Trump by crediting him for his mediation efforts, India has categorically rejected his claims, maintaining that the ceasefire was achieved through direct, back-channel communications and not foreign intervention.
Trump’s latest remarks add to his long list of inflated or inconsistent statements regarding global affairs, particularly involving South Asia. His repeated attempts to recast himself as a key broker in the India-Pakistan equation have often been met with skepticism, both in New Delhi and Washington. Yet, for Trump, the narrative of being the dealmaker who “stopped a nuclear war” remains politically useful — one that he continues to repeat, even as the facts tell a far more complex story.
