Washington DC: US President Donald Trump has once again reiterated his claims of “settling eight wars,” asserting that tariffs and trade were instrumental in resolving five of them — including the recent India-Pakistan escalation in May.
Speaking at a lunch with Senate Republicans in the newly renovated Rose Garden of the White House on Tuesday (local time), Trump said he used trade leverage to prevent what he described as a potential “nuclear disaster” in South Asia.
“I mentioned eight wars, nine coming. Of the eight, five were based solely on trade and tariffs. India and Pakistan were ready to go to war — two nuclear powers, serious nuclear. Seven planes were shot down. I called them and said, ‘If you go to war, we’re not doing a trade deal.’ Twenty-four hours later, they called back: ‘We have decided not to do it,’” Trump said.
Claiming that his intervention halted the conflict, Trump added, “We stopped a potential disaster — a nuclear disaster — because of trade.”
Trump’s comments referred to the May escalation following India’s Operation Sindoor, a series of precision strikes targeting nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
Defending his trade policies, Trump emphasized that tariffs were not merely an economic instrument but a matter of national security. “Tariffs equal national security. Remember that. Tariffs equal national security,” he said, repeating the phrase for emphasis.
He added that tariffs had generated “hundreds of billions of dollars” for the United States, calling them a source of national wealth and strength. “The tariffs have made us a wealthy country. They’ve strengthened our defence and allowed us to help other nations. It’s national security; it’s national defence,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for de-escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, arguing that trade leverage helped avert conflict. However, India has consistently rejected such assertions, maintaining that all issues with Pakistan, including those concerning Jammu and Kashmir, are strictly bilateral and do not involve third-party mediation.
