US President Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro has escalated his criticism of India over its purchase of Russian crude oil, calling it “blood money” and accusing New Delhi of profiteering from the Ukraine conflict.
Navarro also lashed out at Elon Musk’s social media platform X after it fact-checked his remarks.
“Fact: India didn't buy Russian oil in large quantities before Russia invaded Ukraine. It's blood money and people are dying,” Navarro wrote on X.
He had earlier claimed that India’s high tariffs and oil purchases from Moscow were costing American jobs and funding Russia’s war effort.
“India's highest tariffs costs US jobs. India buys Russian oil purely to profit/Revenues feed Russia war machines. Ukrainians/Russians die. US taxpayers shell out more. India can't handle truth/spins,” Navarro wrote in a post on September 6.
When a community note was added to his comments, Navarro attacked Musk, alleging that the billionaire owner was allowing “propaganda” on the platform.
“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 Ukrainians. Stop taking American jobs,” Navarro said.
X responded by explaining that Community Notes is a crowd-sourced fact-checking program that allows users to add context to potentially misleading posts.
Contributors write and rate notes from a range of viewpoints, with the feature intended to correct misinformation.
One such note cited Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments at a joint news conference with Trump in Alaska last month, pointing out that trade between Washington and Moscow has grown since Trump’s second term began.
Another note accused Navarro of spreading divisive narratives, calling his remark that “Brahmins are profiteering” a hypocritical attempt to meddle in India’s internal affairs.
Navarro had said, “Brahmins are profiteering at the expense of the Indian people and it needs to stop.”
Navarro renewed his criticism of X a day after his post was fact-checked, posting a poll and accusing the platform of “prioritising foreign interests.”
He wrote, “Should X put up posts like the one below where foreign interests masquerade as objective observers and interfere with domestic US economics and politics? See SCREEN SHOT! Take a poll on the next post.”
Musk responded by defending the platform’s approach, saying, “On this platform, the people decide the narrative. You hear all sides of an argument. Community Notes corrects everyone, no exceptions. Notes, data, and code is public source. Grok provides further fact-checking.”
Relations between Washington and New Delhi have strained after Trump’s administration doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent, including an additional 25 per cent duty targeting India’s purchases of Russian crude.
India has criticised the measures as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,” noting that China, the largest buyer of Russian oil, faces no such penalties.
New Delhi has defended its oil purchases, stressing that energy procurement decisions are based on national interest and market conditions.
India turned to discounted Russian crude after Western sanctions and boycotts hit Moscow’s energy exports following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
