New Delhi/Washington: Peter Navarro, White House trade advisor and close ally of Donald Trump, launched a blistering attack on India over its Russian oil purchases, accusing New Delhi of profiting from the trade while undermining American jobs. But the criticism backfired when Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) fact-checked his claims, exposing glaring double standards in U.S. trade and sanction policies.
“FACTS: India highest tariffs costs U.S. jobs. India buys Russian oil purely to profit/Revenues feed Russia war machine. Ukrainians/Russians die. U.S. taxpayers shell out more. India can’t handle truth/spins @washpo Leftist American fake news. QED. https://bit.ly/3Vndng1,” he wrote on the microblogging site.
FACTS: India highest tariffs costs U.S. jobs. India buys Russian oil purely to profit/Revenues feed Russia war machine. Ukrainians/Russians die. U.S. taxpayers shell out more. India can’t handle truth/spins @washpo
Leftist American fake news. QED. https://t.co/9UwdodYBEe
— Peter Navarro (@RealPNavarro) September 5, 2025
Hours later, X added a community note to Navarro’s post, clarifying that India’s purchase of Russian oil is for energy security, not mere profit. The note emphasised that New Delhi’s actions do not violate international sanctions.
X also highlighted that the United States itself imports uranium and other minerals from Russia, illustrating what it called a “hypocritical” double standard.
Navarro reacted angrily to the fact-check, targeting Musk. He wrote that the Tesla CEO is spreading “propaganda” and criticised the community note, insisting that India buys Russian oil solely for profit and only began doing so after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
He accused India of spinning the narrative to justify the purchases, urging it to “stop killing Ukrainians and taking American jobs”.
Wow. @elonmusk is letting propaganda into people’s posts. That crap note below is just that. Crap. India buys Russia oil solely to profiteer. It didn’t buy any before Russia invaded Ukraine. Indian govt spin machine moving high tilt. Stop killing Ukranians. Stop taking… https://t.co/Uj1NMUrVOM
— Peter Navarro (@RealPNavarro) September 6, 2025
X fact-checked Navarro’s counterclaims as well, reaffirming that India’s energy trade is a sovereign decision and does not breach international law. The platform again highlighted the U.S.’s double standard in trade and sanctions enforcement.
Navarro’s statements came amid the Trump administration’s announcement on August 27 to impose an additional 25% duty on Indian imports, raising total tariffs to 50%.
Navarro repeatedly criticised India as the “Maharaja of Tariffs” and labelled it a “laundromat for the Kremlin”, even calling the Ukraine war “Modi’s war”.
In a particularly controversial remark, he suggested that “Brahmin Indians are profiting at the expense of their own people”. The Indian government rejected these statements. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randeep Jaiswal stated on Friday, “We have observed several inaccurate statements from him and we reject them.”