Many people are wondering why the Trump administration has been cold to India. To help rid the confusion, here are 5 main reasons for the souring of U.S.-India relations:

1. Trump got annoyed when India declared that he didn’t play a meaningful role in winding down the short war with Pakistan (Operation Sindoor). This really pissed Trump off. By contrast, Pakistan heaped praise and said he deserved a Nobel Prize.
   
   
2. The “America First” influence demands India to reduce its tariffs. The Indian purchase of Russian oil is really just an excuse to raise tariffs on India for its resistance. We know this because other countries buy oil from Russia without tariff penalties.
   
   
3. Although “Realism” arguably dictates for stronger U.S.-India relations to contain China, Realism is notoriously indeterminate with respect to policy predictions and arguably weakens U.S.-India relations because Realism attaches no value to ideology, making it easier to side against a democracy for a state sponsor of Islamist terrorism.
   
   
4. Trump overestimates the value of Pakistan’s resources. There are all sorts of inflated estimates of Pakistani oil and mineral deposits.
   
   
5. Pakistan has outplayed India in the lobbying game. Pakistan is outspending India in this area and India hasn’t chosen the right lobbyists.