Did Trump just ruin his popularity among Indians because of His tariff war on India aside from projecting a dark, villainous side of the US that made many Indians look at the US distrustfully and even incite hatred for the US among Indians?

    Indians have always loved Trump in the past, since the ruling BJP government's anti-islamic views were also reflected by Trump at least in his previous tenure and his tendency to place US first in that regard which meant that people who immigrate to the US from such countries had to have a thorough background check before they could be allowed inside the country. Modi even considered Trump his friend and vice versa, there were instances when Trump referred to Modi as his friend. This mutual understanding between Trump and Modi made many in the ruling government in New Delhi think that India truly had a friend in the White House. This is also why although India was a part of BRICS keeping our nation's interests in mind to which Trump was opposed as he was keeping the US' interests in mind, India never gave the green light to go-ahead with the creation of a separate currency for the BRICS nations and was withholding its vote in favour of it just as Brazil also played a role in it. Now however, since Trump slapped more tariffs on us seeking to increase tariffs on our exports to the US by 50%, India is brooding on voting in favour of a new BRICS currency and also on diversifying the sales of our exports to other countries. Trump thought that slapping tariffs on India would be a way of forcing our hand to leave BRICS altogether, lo and behold, the opposite happened which is not at all surprising. Since not all countries will dance to America's tunes, if the latter uses high-handed means to force us to do something. As Indians, we are innately opposed to outsiders dictating terms and conditions to us on whom to associate or not associate with. 

i) The puerile and cheap image portrayed by Trump's US of itself to India as revealed by tariff imposition: 

   In fact, if anything, Trump's policy in favour of imposing more tariffs on our Indian exports to the US is as immature and childish as one friend trying to get his friend to sever ties with his other friends just because of some misunderstanding or bad blood between the friend who is forcing his friend to break his ties with his other friends and his friend's friends. It becomes even more immature and ridiculous when the government of a country which is deemed to be the most powerful country in the world resorts to such a puerile way of handling diplomatic relationship with a country which is in good terms with it. In fact, Trump's policies if anything, have estranged not just the government of India from ever considering the US as a trustworthy partner but also confused Trump's fans in India about whether he is acting sensibly or like a moron, the fact that the US sided with India's adversary Pakistan recently is a stab in India's back. If someone would want to equate Russia and Pakistan together, I would tell them to think again because any diplomatic row between the US and Russia (even in the light of Russia's Communist past) can be sorted out through negotiation but in the past, we have seen uprisings in Pakistan by Muslims against the US whenever the US acted against Pakistan's interests which shows an even deeper religious shade to it since Pakistanis view Americans as Christians and America as a Christian country, hence their enemy by default owing to their allegiance to the Islamic god allah who hates non-Muslims and loves only Muslims.

ii) Do the republican pro-Christian values represented by Trump tally more with those Islamic values for which Pakistan stands with its quasi-islamic government or with a complete democracy such as India? 
 
           While Communism is evil and Capitalism is comparatively better than the former, you can at least sort out differences between those who consider you their equal and Russia always considered America as its equal and Russians would also see Americans as human beings whereas the same cannot be said of Pakistan with its duality in nature - something the likes of which all Muslim factions which are labelled as terrorist organisations in the world share - when they speak to their own people in local languages like Arabic, Farsi, Pashtun or Urdu, they indoctrinate them with hatred for the West and Christianity, Judaism and Israel (non-Muslims in Islam are second-class human beings and are less in value to Muslims- an idea enshrined in the Quran and Islamic literature) in general whereas they done a mask of empathy when talking to Western diplomats and news agencies in English. While Pakistan as a country is not a terrorist outfit on its own, or at least seeks to portray itself as a Western-styled quasi democracy, it is noteworthy that a part of Pakistan's judicial system is Shariat-based whereas India is a full democracy where the rights of all groups of people are upheld far better (even with the current Hindutuva-based BJP in power) than across the border with Pakistan where Christians are regarded as toilet and street-cleaners and Hindus are looked down upon and persecuted as well. Both Christians and Hindus in Pakistan face persecution from the quasi shariat-based government ruling Pakistan which not just hosts terrorist organisations but also equips and trains them in military-styled training which is usually unleashed on innocent civilians across the Kashmir border in India  - something which the Pakistani military government which rules the country would emphatically and categorically deny when confronted by India or other world players. Hence, if anything Pakistanis are the least deserving of US support considering that the vast majority of Pakistani muslims who are devout in their islamic faith are truthful to the same, as is revealed by their hidden distrust of the West and profound hatred for the nation of Israel and the Jewish people so much so that even after the Oct 8th attacks on the kibbutzes on the South of Israel after which Israel defended itself through the ground offensive on Gaza, the vast majority of voices that rose in protest against Israel's right to defend itself from Hamas were from devout Pakistani muslims who would not have even met a single Jew their entire lives while harbouring intense, profound hatred for the Jews as was seen in countless comments against the Jews and Israel on social media. It is only fair to say that if the US sides with such a country that favours cross-border terrorism like Pakistan where Jews and Israel are hated, we can only wonder whether Trump's republican people truly care for Israel or not because when the US cozies up to Pakistan, it is not just a stab on India's back but also on Israel's back and on the backs of all peace-loving people in the world outside the US.

iii) Trump's fear of Indian talent in the West and the world in general in technical fields in IT industries:
     
    Recently, I heard that Trump told tech companies in the US like Google and Microsoft not to recruit Indians. While this may again be dismissed by Americans as an America-first move, it does not come off that way to Indians as it appears highly racist and only highlights Trump's insecurity with the idea that so many Indians are not just the most hard-working, tech talents in US companies but many of whom hold big positions in those companies like Sundar Pichai CEO of Google - something that they reached through fair and just means - through hard-work and their thirst for subject-specific knowledge and in many occasions far ahead of their Caucasian counterparts. If these anti-Indian policies are really going to be adopted in US tech firms, this only means less brain-drain for India with more of our intellectual minds going to the US and contributing to its tech and economic growth as the no.1 superpower in the world. This in turn means that such talented people will seek to start their own companies and lift up India to new heights on an international scale. So I tell Mr.Trump - "Sir, this was your choice all along, don't cry if things don't go your way in the long run to see Indians in the dumps because they are there to lift up India from now on, thank you for teaching my NRI brothers that there is no place like home in India and that they were wrong in choosing to come and settle down in America all along".

iv) Cognitive dissonance in the Indian psyche about the protectionist anti-immigration and anti-Muslim Trump and the Trump currently cozying up to Pakistan which is a haven for Islamic terrorism:

      Many Indians including myself are currently confronted with how a deeply protectionist Trump who sought to protect the US from unwanted immigration from islamic countries and worked towards that - something that garnered a lot of respect for him among Indians away from the US who see Islam per se as a threat to values like democracy and liberty because of islam's inherent propensity to woo many inert muslims to the way of the jihadi while assuring them a paradise filled with full-breasted houris (half angelic-half human beings) for eternal sex while offering salvation to more than 70 of their immediate family members, would cozy up to Pakistan since Pakistan is a country whose values are straight from the Quran and other islamic writings while externally pretending to be for democracy. Since the only surefire way for a muslim to go to his heaven is to become a martyr through jihad (waging war on non-muslims). It was Pakistan that sheltered Bin Laden and the US knew this which is why they even performed a precision strike on a city which was a seat of Pakistani military activity. This begs the question of how Bin Laden could have been sheltered in a military city in Pakistan without the ISI or the Pakistani military knowing about it. How come a country that sheltered America's enemy Bin Laden which was one of the key reasons why the US incursion and stay in Afghanistan failed spectacularly after many years since the Taliban were given refuge in Pakistan whenever the US military struck terror targets during its stay in Afghanistan - something that meant that the Taliban only had to cross over the Afghan-Pakistan border to find shelter in Pakistan. All of the above along with very open admissions by countless devout Pakistani muslims that they hate Israel and the Jews only questions how Trump's US can support Pakistan over India. If anything, the US is doing itself a terrible disservice and is deceiving itself by supporting Pakistan over India as the friend who is open and assertive about his stances to be independent is WAY more trustworthy than the sly, underhanded enemy who is secretly planning traps for you while smiling at your face and pretending to be your friend failing which he (Pakistan) uses business money to win you over. Trump's US' choice of Pakistan over India also calls to question whether he and his advisors are men of honour who really value those ideals that they stand for both as Americans and as Christians.

    The lesson that so many Indians beyond our policy-makers in the Indian government as well as diplomats alike have learnt is that we were always right in not trusting America fully as a friend which is why our people always sought to diversify our purchase of military equipment from many different countries. The eagle is a majestic bird and the US' national bird is the bald eagle, one of the abilities of the eagle is that it has got very sharp eyesight, it can see something from far away and nothing is hidden from it even when it soars the thermals. Such is the sharpness of the eagle's vision, figuratively it means that no underhanded schemes of dark forces can evade the sharp eyesight of the eagle which has the power of discernment which can help it see what is true and what is untrue. It is sad to see that Trump's second tenure at office has not helped the bald eagle (US) to recognise who is its true friend (India) as opposed to who is its actual enemy (Pakistan). Pakistan is like a snake because of its dual nature of deceit while pretending to be trustworthy to some and eagles feed on snakes, eagles do not cozy up to them. Trump's US drawing closer in diplomatic intimacy with Pakistan is like an eagle falling in love with a snake which is causing cognitive dissonance for many Indians including myself about whose side the US is truly on in the light of its values, since its actions of late have been fickle. As for Trump, his recent manoeuvres in favour of tariffs on Indian exports to the US have earned him a lot of foes in India who were once his warmest friends and even ardent fans far ahead of Modi - yes, at one point, Trump's popularity among Indians eclipsed even Modi's popularity among Modi's supporters (Christians excluded). A text book case of how to make enemies through backstabbing those who trusted you, i.e., India and its people in favour of Pakistan, even as Putin's Russia now has a cordial relationship with the US and is agreeing to end the war in Ukraine - for which Trump has turned against India for purchasing Russian oil while his nation buys much more stuff from Russia than India ever did. For me personally as a Christian in India, while I feel that while Trump is right in the area of being opposed to abortions, gay marriages, radical Islam and also persecution of Christians around the world (including in India) - Trump is perfect and flawless in his defense of Christians around the world - something for which we are thankful, while being in favour of traditional family values and other traditional Christian values, Trump's recent actions against India have also made his character unpredictable which I find irksome as that casts doubts on his position in this regard but also makes me wonder whether he truly stands for those values that he always claimed to represent, alongside countless other Indians who may have even worse feelings about him because of what he is doing to India. Sure, I hope that things improve over time between both countries.