Trump aide says he got ‘firebombed’ by India over remarks against its Russian oil purchases: ‘Don’t do that’

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro responded to criticism from India regarding his comments on New Delhi’s trade policies. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Navarro urged his critics to refrain from personal attacks, stating that such an approach is not conducive to problem-solving in the United States.

Navarro, who has been a vocal critic of India’s trade policies, particularly those involving Russia, described being “firebombed by the Indian continent on the internet with all sorts of nasty little attacks.” He reiterated that this method is not how issues are resolved in America.

The White House official has repeatedly criticized India, even labeling it the “Maharaja of tariffs,” while defending US retaliatory tariffs in response to India’s procurement of Russian oil. Navarro, an adviser to US President Donald Trump on trade and manufacturing, noted that India’s involvement in the Russian oil trade significantly increased after the 2022 Ukraine war began.

“Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, India was not involved in the oil trade with Russia, but afterwards it got heavily involved and was selling a lot of refined products on behalf of Russia, which helped feed the war machine,” he stated.

Navarro asserted that the issue has since been resolved, claiming that his critical op-ed in The Financial Times played a role in reducing India’s oil trade with Russia.

Throughout his commentary, Navarro has accused India of helping fund Russia’s “war machine” in Ukraine. In his Financial Times piece, he characterized India’s oil trade with Russia as “opportunistic” and “corrosive” to international efforts to isolate the Russian economy. He also linked India’s actions to the financial burden on American and European taxpayers supporting Ukraine and criticized India’s high tariffs and trade barriers against American exports. Navarro further escalated his criticism by calling India a “laundromat for the Kremlin” and referring to the Russia-Ukraine conflict as “Modi’s war,” alleging that Moscow uses oil revenues to fund its military efforts.

In response to Navarro’s remarks, India’s Ministry of External Affairs dismissed his comments on Russian oil purchases in September of the previous year as “inaccurate and misleading.” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, “We have seen the inaccurate and misleading statements made by Mr Navarro and obviously reject them.”