“US Brand in Toilet”: White house ex-official blasts Trump’s India tariffs

Story by Jessica Mbamah 

Former U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan delivered a blunt assessment of America’s crumbling global image, warning that countries like India are now considering closer ties with China just to hedge against an increasingly unpredictable United States under President Donald Trump.

Speaking on The Bulwark podcast, Sullivan said, “The American brand globally is in the toilet. Look at India. Trump has executed a massive trade offensive against them. Now, India is thinking, ‘Shit, we have to go sit down with China to hedge against America.’”

Sullivan, who served as NSA under President Joe Biden, pointed to rising international skepticism about the reliability of the U.S. in foreign affairs. He said global opinion polls now show China edging ahead of the United States in popularity across several regions a stark reversal from just a year ago.

“What they’re talking about is derisking from the United States,” he said. “They now see the U.S. as the big disruptor, the country that can’t be counted on.”

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India’s shift, Sullivan noted, is especially striking given the bipartisan effort in Washington to deepen ties with New Delhi—primarily to counterbalance China’s rise. But with President Trump launching a sweeping tariff campaign against India and publicly humiliating the government over trade, Sullivan said Indian officials now feel forced to reevaluate.

“Here’s a country that, on a bipartisan basis, we were working to build a deeper relationship with,” he said. “Now… the Indians are saying, ‘Well, maybe we have to go show up in Beijing.’”

Sullivan’s remarks come amid a broader erosion in America’s diplomatic standing. Recent polling cited by Sullivan shows global publics increasingly see China as a more stable and responsible actor—especially in Asia, Africa, and parts of Europe.

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The fallout from Trump’s trade war with India including 50% tariffs and stalled strategic cooperation has already raised concerns in Washington.

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