Despite a detailed rebuttal from the Narendra Modi government, U.S. President Donald Trump has, for the fourth consecutive day, claimed credit for brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan—an achievement he says prevented a conflict that “could have killed millions.”
Speaking at an investment forum in Riyadh, Trump remarked that the leaders of India and Pakistan could now even “go for a nice dinner” together, as tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors had de-escalated.
“Just days ago, my administration successfully brokered a historic ceasefire to stop the escalating violence between India and Pakistan,” Trump said. “And I used trade to a large extent to do it. I told the leaders, ‘Fellows, come on. Let’s make a deal. Let’s do some trading.’”
His comments came even as New Delhi firmly rejected the notion that the United States had any role in mediating the ceasefire, which brought an end to nearly four days of cross-border hostilities. India also dismissed Trump’s claim that he used the threat of halting U.S. trade with both countries to pressure them into backing down.
“Let’s not trade nuclear missiles. Let’s trade the things you make so beautifully,” Trump said. “They both have very powerful, strong, smart leaders. And it all stopped. Hopefully, it’ll stay that way—but it stopped.”
Trump went on to praise Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio, crediting him and others in his administration for their efforts.
“Marco, stand up. What a great job you did on that. Thank you,” Trump said. “Vice President JD Vance, Marco—the whole group worked hard. And I think [India and Pakistan] are actually getting along. Maybe we can even get them together a little bit, Marco, where they go out and have a nice dinner together. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Trump continued, “We’ve come a long way. Millions of people could have died in that conflict. It started small and was getting bigger by the day.”
This marks the fourth day in a row—Saturday through Tuesday—that Trump has publicly asserted his administration’s role in defusing tensions between the two South Asian rivals, despite consistent denials from the Indian government.
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