Trumpiana: Howdy Modi, Namaste Trump, Bye Dosti, Hi Grump!

The Don was livid. Russia’s Putin and India’s Modi were both cocking a snook at him – the most powerful person on earth. One was refusing to end the war with Ukraine. The other was helping prolong the war by buying oil from it.

A few others too were refusing to bow to His Majesty! Time to put the recalcitrant, the obdurate and the defiant in their place, mused POTUS 45 and 47, by making India an example even at the risk of dismantling a relationship  painstakingly built over a quarter century.

Picking up his big black pen, Donald Trump doubled tariffs on India to 50% as punishment for “buying massive amounts of Russian Oil” and making “big profits” from its sale without caring “how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine.”

The new 25% add-on will take effect on Aug. 27 if India doesn’t stop buying Russian oil, Trump ordained ignoring the fact that the previous Biden administration had winked at these purchases to keep global prices stable.

READ: Trumpiana: Who stole my Nobel Peace Prize! (August 2, 2025)

Trump also threatened to similarly penalise other countries, including China and Turkey, that buy Russian energy, as a way to pressure the Kremlin into ending the war with Ukraine.

Only in February, a smiling Trump had welcomed Modi to the White House and watched him outline plans for building a “mega partnership for prosperity” with “in the language of America, ‘Make India Great Again’ MIGA”  working with MAGA.

That was before tariffs came into play, turning a friend into a foe. Gone in an instant were the heady days of “Howdy Modi” and “Namaste Trump” rallies in Houston and Ahmedabad in September 2019 and February 2020 the two attended as comrades in arms during Trump’s first term.

Yet a defiant India made it clear it will not obey Trump’s diktat calling the penalty “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,” and vowing to “take all actions necessary to protect its national interests.”

As analysts wondered why Trump instead of bolstering trade with India as a counterweight to China had turned against it, Modi sent his National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to meet Putin in Moscow and reiterate their commitment to a “strategic partnership.” Putin also promised to come calling on Modi ‘soon.’

But Putin didn’t get even a rap on the knuckles! As Trump’s deadline to stop the fighting by Friday or face tough new sanctions came, POTUS instead handed him a huge diplomatic win by agreeing to a summit in Alaska on August 15, their first encounter since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Giving up his initial insistence on including Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the talks, Trump agreed to meet Putin alone though he did speak with Zelenskyy along with European leaders on the potential for a trilateral meeting.

Trump also suggested Friday that a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv could include “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.”

“We’re going to get some back, and we’re going to get some switched,” said  Trump as he hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to “broker another historic peace deal.”

READ: Trumpiana: Who dun it — The crime of the century! (July 27, 2025)

“As President, my highest aspiration is to bring peace and stability to the world,” he wrote once again suggesting, “Today’s signing follows our success with India and Pakistan…” — a claim Modi refuses to acknowledge to Trump’s great annoyance.

Meanwhile, as the clock struck 12 on Aug. 7, an unmindful Trump took to Truth Social to shout, “IT’S MIDNIGHT!!! Tariffs are flowing into the USA at levels not thought even possible!”

But as nothing is final in Trump world, leaders from some 90 countries scrambled to contain the economic and political damage from the sweeping new tariffs pushing the overall average effective tariff rate to over 17% — the highest since 1935, during the Great Depression.

Then, in keeping with the adage, a story a day keeps the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein away, Trump’s team sought to divert attention from the disgraced financier with a series of  announcements.

These ranged from declaring “People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS,” to setting up “the White House Task Force on the 2028 Summer Olympics 🇺🇸🏅… to MAKE THE OLYMPICS GREAT AGAIN!” — headed by himself of course.

The House committee investigating the Epstein case issued subpoenas to former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and several top former Justice Department officials for their testimony. Justice department launched a grand jury investigation of whether Obama administration officials committed federal crimes when they assessed Russia’s actions during the 2016 election.

And a chorus of right-wing voices also stoked a controversy over a new American Eagle ad campaign with one of Hollywood’s top young stars over its slogan: “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” They claimed that progressives were up in arms over the intentional double-entendre with the word “genes,” suggesting it was winking at eugenics or white supremacy.

READ: Trumpiana: Punch, pivot and play — a genius act! (July 19, 2025)

Trump chimed in to give a rocket boost to the jeans. “Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there. It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are ‘flying off the shelves.’ Go get ‘em Sydney!”

Then acting less like a tenant and more like an owner, Trump took a heavily secured 20-minute walkabout atop the White House to survey the changes he has made or plans to make, including a $200 million ballroom.

Before that he did not forget to remind about his “first ‘Paycheck’ going to the White House Historical Association, as we make much needed renovations to the beautiful ‘People’s House.’”

“Have you seen the Sydney Sweeney ad?”🗣️ the White House added playfully with a picture of Trump talking long distance to reporters gathered below.

It’s not clear how the press responded, but one Billy came up with a Trump meme proclaiming, ‘THE FAKE NEWS WATER CANNONS WILL BE READY SOON!!!”