U.S.-India relationship at its lowest in 30 years: Indian-American Democrat leader
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- Ro Khanna told the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum Leadership Summit in Washington on June 29, 2026, that the bilateral relationship has hit its lowest point in 30 years, blaming Trump's "utterly destructive policies."
- Khanna singled out the Trump-Iran war as directly driving up gas prices in India, urging skeptics to "talk to External Affairs Minister Jaishankar if you don't believe me."
- India's Ambassador to China privately told Khanna during his recent trip to China that "a generation of trust has been lost" under Trump, according to the congressman.
- Khanna denounced Trump's threats toward Iran, Cuba, and Greenland as a "might makes right" foreign policy that has abandoned America's moral leadership.
- Khanna argued that 38% of top AI researchers are of Chinese origin and 72% hold foreign degrees, criticizing Trump's student-visa restrictions as self-defeating for U.S. competitiveness.
- Khanna, a presumptive 2028 presidential contender, called Trump a "lame duck" and predicted decisive Democratic wins in the upcoming midterms and the 2028 presidential race.
Why it matters: By choosing a flagship U.S.-India forum — rather than a domestic venue — Khanna is making a 2020s-style argument that Trump's Iran war has measurable economic costs for a key strategic partner, with gas prices in India as the most concrete data point. Quoting India's own envoy to China as privately conceding lost trust gives the critique diplomatic weight beyond standard partisan opposition messaging.
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