Top Democrat and former US official Rahm Emanuel has sharply criticized former President Donald Trump, accusing him of jeopardizing decades of strategic progress with India to advance his personal ambitions.

 

Emanuel, who served as President Barack Obama’s chief of staff and recently as the US ambassador to Japan, said in an interview that Trump’s actions damaged years of work in strengthening US-India relations simply because Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to endorse Trump’s bid for a Nobel Peace Prize.

 

“He sacrificed it all because Modi would not say that the President deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for the ceasefire with Pakistan,” Emanuel said, referring to the temporary suspension of Operation Sindoor, a campaign targeting terrorist bases, which had been paused after a request from the Pakistani army.

 

While India has consistently stated that the decision to halt the operation was entirely its own, Emanuel noted that Trump repeatedly framed the pause as a personal diplomatic achievement. Reports indicate that the former president mentioned this “victory” on at least 50 occasions, often claiming it was secured by threatening India with 200 percent tariffs.