Trump and His Minions Rage, Modi Stays Silent – Because Silence Is Golden
The week has been filled with the predictable chorus of noise from Washington’s most loyal Trump allies. Peter Navarro dusted off his megaphone to declare that Ukraine’s conflict is somehow “Modi’s war,” as if New Delhi were secretly pulling strings in Eastern Europe. Scott Bessent, never to be left behind, accused India of “profiteering” on discounted Russian oil and dragging its feet in negotiations, while Marco Rubio performed his own intellectual gymnastics to explain why China escapes tariffs even as India gets slapped with them. Together, they sound less like policymakers and more like the loyal friends of a bitter ex, rallying around Trump and trying their hardest to hate the man he cannot get over: Modi.
It is almost comical to watch this spectacle. Navarro screams into the void, Bessent sulks on television, and Rubio mutters excuses that make less sense the longer he talks. The United States is supposedly leading the charge for global democracy, but its loudest voices on India behave like a clique of sycophantic friends, amplifying the bitterness of their leader. They fling insults, levy tariffs, and cook up catchy phrases for the cameras. And all the while, Modi refused to even pick up Trump’s call. That silence was not an accident then, and it is not an accident now.
This is where the “ex-girlfriend energy” becomes impossible to ignore. Trump’s circle of loyalists keeps sending angry messages into the void, hoping India will respond. Yet unlike Pakistan, which rushed to put Trump on a pedestal after Operation Sindoor and indulged his every whim, India refuses to indulge in sycophancy. Modi’s government has chosen a different path — one where dignity is not sacrificed at the altar of American approval. Perhaps that is what irritates Trump’s camp the most: India will not flatter them, and so they confuse silence for insolence.
But silence here is not weakness. It is strategy. India does not waste breath replying to the tantrums of Navarro or the sulking of Bessent. Instead, it carries on with the business of securing discounted Russian oil, negotiating trade deals, and protecting its own energy security. Every non-response is a statement in itself, one that says India is too busy with real priorities to be distracted by Washington’s theatrics. And the more Modi refuses to react, the more desperate his critics appear. Silence, as the old proverb goes, is golden.
There is also something deeper at play here. India is not a fragile newcomer on the world stage that can be cowed by angry press conferences. It is one of the most ancient civilizations, a nation that has seen centuries of invasions, colonial exploitation, and a brutal independence struggle. Nothing was handed to it on a silver platter. Every inch of sovereignty was clawed back through resilience, sacrifice, and determination. If Trump and his minions believe that a few tariffs or insults can bend India backwards, they are not just grossly mistaken — they are writing their own eulogy in the chronicles of history. India has faced far worse than angry soundbites from Washington.
And that is what makes this entire episode so absurd. The loudness of Trump’s allies does not mask strength; it reveals insecurity. Each time Modi refuses to bite, another Trump loyalist pops up with a new accusation, a new insult, a new attempt to provoke. The irony is painful: the world’s most powerful country reduced to a shouting match that no one on the other side even bothers to acknowledge. It is as if every day of Indian silence forces Washington’s hand to draft yet another angry statement — a cycle of noise that only exposes how little leverage they truly have.
In the end, this is not about who can yell louder. It is about who can endure longer. India has centuries of practice in endurance. Trump and his minions may rage, accuse, and punish, but India stands where it has always stood — calm, deliberate, and unbending. Modi’s silence is not empty; it is calculated, dignified, and devastating in its effect. For while Washington keeps talking, New Delhi proves the oldest lesson in statecraft: silence is golden, and it is driving Trump’s minions absolutely mad.
