Invariably US President Donald Trump says one thing and means something completely different has, by now, become clear to the world. But those in the Indian ruling establishment who still set store by his words or false promises need to sit up and redraw their strategy vis-à-vis the USA under Trump. This is the inescapable conclusion one can draw from the latest leak of a purported conversation between Senator Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican, and Trump. Cruz, regarded as a close ally of Trump, has such a stature in American politics that he is eyeing a 2028 White House run. As such his confidential exchanges with the US President and American business leaders do carry weight and it is of much concern for India as they refer to US trade policies for India. The Senator pilloried Vice President JD Vance and ridiculed Trump’s tariff policy during private meetings with donors, according to recordings accessed by a media outlet.
Cruz’s caustic remarks during two meetings last year are some of the harshest criticisms of Trump and Vance by a fellow Republican since they took office a year ago. The recordings have a duration of nearly 10 minutes in total, but they provide a glimpse into the way the US administration is working under Trump’s presidency and its negative stand on US trade relations with India endorsed by Trump himself. During his talks Cruz described Vance as a pawn of conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson whom Cruz has accused of promoting anti-Semitism and an anti-Israel foreign policy. They were made in early and middle 2025.
Cruz warned donors that Trump’s tariffs could prove disastrous for the US economy and lead to his impeachment. Cruz told them after Trump introduced the tariffs in early April 2025, he and a few other senators had a call with the PoTUS in which they urged him not to go ahead with his punitive tariff policy. Cruz admitted his long conversation, which stretched past midnight, “did not go well,” and that Trump was “yelling” and “cursing,” using unparliamentary language.
Cruz even cautioned Trump that his economic policies, including the tariff war, would affect the common man in the US in such a way that the Republican party would suffer “a bloodbath” in November 2026 when there would be a mid-term poll. He even told Trump that he was going to lose the Senate and there would be impeachment motions against him every single week for the next two years.
What concerns India most is the revelation that Vance and White House economic adviser Peter Navarro played a key role in blocking a proposed trade deal between Washington and New Delhi. Cruz told the donors that Trump himself “sometimes” intervened to stall the proposed US-India agreement. The report comes when India and the US are engaged in prolonged trade negotiations. The irony is Trump recently expressed confidence about the India–US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) while speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. He even repeated his admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing him as “a fantastic man and a friend of mine.” He then iterated that the two countries “are going to have a good deal.” The formally proposed agreement aims to more than double bilateral trade from the current $191 billion to $500 billion by 2030. Talks were first announced during the PM’s visit to Washington in February 2025. Several rounds of discussions have been held since then.
The leaked recordings indicate the US administration’s real intent to merely dangle carrots before India, while the top leadership wants to block US trade with India. The current dispensation in Delhi and its sycophantic media display the tendency to gloat over every word of praise for the PM by Trump. It is time to shake off the illusion of favourable treatment from Trump and instead form trade ties with other countries, including the European Union which is ongoing with the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyens currently being present in New Delhi. Here too, the EU seems to be getting the better of the deal. India has reportedly offered to lower tariffs to the tune of nearly Euro 4 billion and EU expects to double its exports to India. However, no one is heard speaking about the exports from India to the EU and what tariffs the EU will decrease, if any, on goods from India.