Donald Trump Press Conference: “It could have been a bad nuclear war, where millions of people could have been killed,” he said, thanking Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio for their efforts. “They worked very hard on that,” he said.
Donald Trump has taken credit for having “stopped a nuclear conflict – a bad one” in the brink of time. Both India and Pakistan have “lots of nuclear weapons”, said the US President, adding that the two nations were going at it “hot and heavy”.
Giving himself a pat on the back, President Trump said it was “my administration that helped broker a full and immediate ceasefire. I think a permanent one”. Both India and Pakistan were “powerful and unwavering”, the US President acknowledged.
“It could have been a bad nuclear war, where millions of people could have been killed,” he said, thanking Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio for their efforts. “They worked very hard on that,” he said.
TRUMP GOING OFF-SCRIPT?
President Trump, who was reading from a paper in a file he brought to the press briefing, perhaps to be accurate and measured as he walked the diplomatic tightrope, suddenly went off-script as he spoke spontaneously without looking at the paper shortly after a minute into the brief.
In a surprising claim Mr Trump ended up saying “I said, come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys, both countries, so let’s stop it. Stop it if you want trade. If you don’t stop, we’re not going to do any trade.” He went on to claim that “People have never used trade the way I have used it – and then all of a sudden they said ‘we’re going to stop’. They might have done it for a lot of reasons, but trade was a big one.”
Government sources have told NDTV that there was no mention of trade in the discussions. Rejecting the off-hand remark by the US President, they said, “After Operation Sindoor commenced, US Vice President JD Vance spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 9. Secretary Rubio spoke to the foreign minister S Jaishankar on May 8 and May 10 and to National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on May 10. There was no reference to trade in any of these discussions.”
‘NUCLEAR BLACKMAIL WON’T DETER INDIA’
Less than an hour after Donald Trump’s “could have been a bad nuclear war” remark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned that India will not tolerate “nuclear blackmail”, and has revised its doctrine to combat terror with the commencement of Operation Sindoor. According to what PM Modi called “the new normal”, he said, “Operation Sindoor is not just an operation, but a doctrinal change in India’s policy to combat terror.”
He added that “India will strike wherever terror bases are located, and shall do so decisively if our country is attacked.”
“India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail. India will strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hideouts developing under the cover of nuclear blackmail,” PM Modi said in a warning to Pakistan, and a message to the world.
‘CEASEFIRE NOT PERMANENT’
Without any direct mention of Donald Trump’s White House press briefing, where President Trump claimed that this was a “permanent ceasefire”, PM Modi said Operation Sindoor is not over, it has only been suspended based of Pakistan’s assurance that it will act on dismantling terror infrastructure in the country.
