The world watches as Trump’s aggressive stance — blending diplomacy, dominance, and disruption — challenges long-held norms and fuels new global tensions.
By Annpurna Nautiyal
From growing discontent, anxieties, and existential tensions within the United States to global concerns such as finalising shaky peace pacts with great pomp, waging tariff wars, and using arm-twisting tactics that fuel instability, President Donald Trump shows no signs of relenting. On one hand, the world order is under such immense strain that predicting its future course has become nearly impossible. On the other, the US domestic landscape mirrors deep turmoil — from granting key positions to election deniers who claimed Trump’s 2020 defeat was due to fraud, to gilding almost everything in the White House, paving over the Rose Garden’s grass, and demolishing the historic East Wing to construct a 90,000-square-foot ballroom, all without approval.
Trump’s unilateral actions — from issuing orders to punish nations accused of drug-trade violations without Congress’s approval to launching tirades against educational institutions, administrators, judges, immigrants, H-1B visa holders, and others — reveal his authoritarian impulses and his belief in the maxim that “power comes from power,” whether military, economic, or otherwise.
The uncertainty surrounding Trump’s policies is so pronounced that he abruptly announced the termination of all trade negotiations with Canada over what he called its “egregious behaviour.” The provocation: a video advertisement paid for by the province of Ontario, featuring former President Ronald Reagan speaking critically about tariffs. The ad infuriated Trump to such an extent that he immediately ended trade talks, leaving the Canadian Prime Minister no opportunity to respond.
Trump made it clear that, for the US, tariffs are very important for national security and the economy. This abrupt step came despite the Canadian Prime Minister’s participation, along with more than two dozen heads of state, in the recently held Gaza Peace/Ceasefire ceremony — which Israel later shattered by killing 104 Gazans. Such attitudes are increasing tension and dilemma worldwide, motivating Canada and others to explore trade possibilities in the Asian region. Trump’s gambit clearly indicates that he prefers tariffs to long, inconclusive negotiations.
Trump’s larger-than-life ego can only be buttressed by sycophancy — an art mastered by Pakistan’s Prime Minister and Army Chief to such a degree that, despite sponsoring terrorism, Pakistan has become the apple of Trump’s eye. This was evident during the Gaza Peace signing ceremony, where Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif crossed all limits of flattery by once again nominating President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, praising his role as a “Peace President” and for stopping the Indo-Pakistan conflict of May 2025 — a claim India has always rejected.
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In contrast, Indian Prime Minister Modi, despite maintaining friendly relations with Trump and continuing trade talks, could not prevent India from being slapped with 50% trade tariffs. India is also being directly pressured to completely stop buying oil from Russia if it wants relief from an additional 25% tariff. Although India has been importing crude oil from the US — currently at the highest level compared to 2022 — and also sourcing oil from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Russia remains its largest supplier, something Trump disapproves of. He has repeatedly claimed that Prime Minister Modi assured him over a phone call that India would stop importing Russian oil — a statement India has denied.
Reports suggest that after sanctions on two major Russian oil firms, an unofficial Russian crude oil tanker, Furia, heading for India, changed course due to stricter inspection rules for older vessels by Denmark and other European countries. This reflects the growing difficulties for India in procuring Russian oil and foreshadows possible price increases globally — a challenge for emerging economies like India. Time will tell whether India can absorb such sanctions and push back against Trump’s pressure.
Under such circumstances, Modi has wisely chosen to avoid direct face-offs with the mercurial, brash, and abrupt President who believes more in optics than reality. He skipped several forums — including the UNGA meeting, the Gaza Peace ceremony, and the 22nd ASEAN Summit in Malaysia (October 26–27, 2025), which he addressed online instead. At a recent Berlin Global Dialogue, India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal defended India’s national interests and criticised the West’s double standards on Russian oil, asking why India has been singled out when Germany and the UK have sought exemptions from US sanctions for subsidiaries of Rosneft — a sanctioned Russian oil supplier.
While this may signal that India’s oil companies should stop buying Russian oil to avoid further tariffs, Goyal clarified that India “would not sign any trade deal at gunpoint or in a hurry.” Still, since India remains keen to improve relations with the US, hopes persist that after five rounds of negotiations, both sides will soon reach a trade agreement.
During his Asia trip to attend the 22nd ASEAN Summit in Malaysia, Trump’s ego was further boosted by a grand red-carpet welcome from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Trump was so pleased that he not only signed trade and rare earth deals and a peace treaty between Thailand and Cambodia but also hailed Malaysia as a “great and vibrant country.” In Japan, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed admiration for Trump’s “active diplomacy” and praised his mediation of ceasefires between Cambodia and Thailand, and Israel and Hamas.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later revealed that Takaichi had also nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize — an honour he is obsessed with. Trump, in turn, lauded her leadership and affirmed that the US and Japan are “allies at the strongest level,” promising generous American support. Speaking at the Yokosuka Naval Base, Trump claimed that Toyota would invest “over $10 billion” in US plants. Yet, Japan’s commitment to investing $550 billion in the US — a main point of disagreement — remained unresolved. In the end, Japan secured a modest tariff reduction to 15% on its exports.
On October 30, 2025, Trump’s much-awaited meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping took place in South Korea, where Trump was attending the CEO Summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). At the summit, Trump acknowledged Modi as a “great friend and killer,” announcing that a US-India trade deal would be signed soon. He also praised Pakistan’s Prime Minister and Army Chief as “great fighters,” signalling an even-handed — though self-serving — policy toward India and Pakistan, driven by economic and geopolitical interests.
After a friendly yet tense meeting with Xi, Trump rated their encounter “twelve on a scale of ten.” The absence of his usual harsh tone — typically reserved for democracies like India — suggested progress, as China agreed to delay for one year the introduction of new controls on the supply of critical rare earth metals, providing a temporary reprieve to global supply chains. Trump also announced that tariffs on Chinese goods, imposed for Beijing’s role in supplying fentanyl, would be reduced from 20% to 10%, bringing the overall tariff rate down from 57% to 47%. However, no new trade agreement was announced.
Chinese media reported that Xi advised Trump to avoid a “vicious cycle of mutual retaliation,” while both leaders invited each other for state visits in the coming year. On his way home, Trump made another stunning announcement — that the US would resume nuclear weapons testing after more than three decades — leaving the world puzzled as to why such testing was now deemed necessary.
Trump’s handling of China reveals his desire for a deal with a nation that refuses to bow to his pressure. China’s calculations suggest it has amassed enough power to soon surpass the US as the world’s leading force. India, meanwhile, continues to reel under Trump’s tariffs despite ongoing trade talks. The message is clear: India must build greater diplomatic and manufacturing strength to reach China’s level — for Trump understands only the language of power.
