Washington: John Mearsheimer, one of America’s leading international relations experts and Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, has strongly criticized former US President Donald Trump’s India policy, calling it a “colossal blunder.” Speaking on the podcast Daniel Davis Deep Dive, Mearsheimer argued that imposing secondary sanctions on India for importing Russian oil is a strategy doomed to fail.

“This is a colossal blunder on our part. It’s hard to believe, but what’s going on here? Secondary sanctions won’t work with India. The Indians have made it clear that they will not cut off the importation of oil from Russia. Indians are not going to cave,” Mearsheimer stated.

He further accused Trump of damaging what was previously a strong relationship with India, which he said was crucial for the US strategy to contain China. “When Trump moved into the White House this past January, relations between the United States and India were really terrific. For containing China, good relations with India are essential. But now, with these secondary sanctions, we have poisoned relations with India,” he added.

Mearsheimer also highlighted a German media report claiming that Trump attempted to call Prime Minister Narendra Modi four times without success. “The Indians are furious with us, almost to a person. Modi refuses to talk to Trump, and now he’s moving closer to the Chinese and the Russians. So, this approach not only doesn’t work, it’s counterproductive,” he said.

The scholar criticized Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade adviser, for pushing a policy that lacks any realistic outcome. “There’s nobody applauding this move except people like Peter Navarro. Are they going to make the argument that India is going to cave? I don’t know anybody who believes that, and everything India has done so far says that argument is wrong,” Mearsheimer concluded.