NEW DELHI, Feb. 25 — Foreign policy expert Mahesh Sachdev said Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump appears “desperate” for foreign policy successes, following Trump’s renewed claim that he helped stop a potential conflict between India and Pakistan last year.
Speaking after Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress, Sachdev said the president’s reiteration of his claim comes at a time when his popularity appears to be declining ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.
During his address, Trump repeated that he had “stopped eight wars” and credited himself with halting a possible India-Pakistan conflict in May last year following the Pahalgam terror attack.
However, India has consistently denied any third-party mediation in the decision to cease hostilities with Pakistan, maintaining that the request to end military operations came from Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations.
“I think the context is pretty clear through this assertion as well as the denials,” Sachdev said. “The fact that this reiteration takes place against the falling popularity of President Trump, which seems to have declined sharply as the midterm election looms, makes the president more desperate to claim foreign policy successes, which have been rare and few in between despite his claims to the contrary.”
Sachdev said that limited progress in resolving the war between Russia and Ukraine, the absence of a lasting peace settlement in Gaza, and stalled negotiations with Iran have compounded challenges for the Trump administration.
“All that put together makes him more desperate for a foreign policy success,” he said.
Sachdev added that the State of the Union address carries heightened political significance because the president does not participate in routine congressional deliberations. He described the broader context as “turbulent,” citing the recent ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States invalidating Trump’s tariff strategy, rising geopolitical tensions, and the approaching November midterm elections.
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