‘India Is Big Boy, Not Schoolchild’: American Political Thinker Slams Trump's 50% Tariffs

Last Updated:August 31, 2025, 10:40 IST

Rick Sanchez said that US decision to impose secondary tariffs on India is “extremely preposterous in the eyes of most people”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump (Reuters file photo)

Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on India for buying Russian oil is a “disrespectful and ignorant policy", American journalist and political commentator Rick Sanchez said, while also pointing to the US President’s “non-scientific thinking".

He said that India has been “very smart to hold its ground" amid the US’ 50% tariff and pressure tactics.

In an interview with news agency ANI, Sanchez said that US decision to impose secondary tariffs on India is “extremely preposterous in the eyes of most people".

“It’s a disrespectful and ignorant policy (of the Trump Administration)… Because they don’t understand the underpinnings of what caused the Ukraine war from the standpoint of Russia… You have to take that into account, which PM Modi has to some regard… The disrespectful part comes when you start treating a country like India with its history, resources and capabilities like a schoolchild. Too many people think India started with Gandhi… However, what India has done for the world is every bit as important, if not more so, as what Europe and Mesopotamia have achieved… It’s almost like they’re treating India like they’re schoolchildren who need to be told what to do. India’s the big boy, not a schoolchild," he said.

“When India looked back at the US and said, ‘You will not tell us who we can or cannot buy oil from, ‘ it was such a cataclysmic, transformational moment. Historians will one day look back and say, that’s when power started to truly decline from the old European US that was running the World since World War II… That doesn’t mean the United States is in a downfall. From a power standpoint, it’s going to shift to the global South, in which the premier countries are going to be India and China, along with Russia, South Africa and Brazil," he added.

His remarks came after he was asked about Trump imposing a penalty on India for buying Russian oil.

In July, Trump put a 25% tariff on Indian goods and later added another 25% tariff on imports of Russian oil, raising the total to 50%.

(With ANI inputs)

News world ‘India Is Big Boy, Not Schoolchild’: American Political Thinker Slams Trump's 50% Tariffs

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