A screenshot shared online in August 2025 purported to show an authentic social media post from U.S. President Donald Trump criticizing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over "tariff concerns."
The post circulated on social media, particularly on X (archived, archived) after Trump threatened India with a 25% tariff effective Aug. 1.
The alleged Trump post read:
So hard to believe that Prime Minister Modi STILL hasn't responded to my tweets, statements, or tariff concerns. We gave India so much — great deals, defense support, big crowds — and yet, TOTAL SILENCE. Not even a thank you!
Don't forget — I'm the one who got India and Pakistan to declare a ceasefire. Nobody else could do that. MANY people said I should've gotten the Nobel Prize for it!!
India continues to benefit while American workers suffer. I've always liked Modi, but this kind of disrespect will NOT be forgotten. Bad for business. Bad for friendship. #AmericaFirst
(X user @abasu4ever)
However, there is no evidence that Trump posted the message in question.
No such post was available on the president's Truth Social feed. A search for the phrase "Prime Minister Modi" on Trump's Truth — an archive of Trump's Truth Social posts, including those that have been removed — produced no results among posts from July 1 through Aug. 1, 2025, when the purported post was alleged to have been made.
Further, the post appeared to originate with an account on X called Wokeflix, which posted the screenshot along with the caption "disgruntled lover." The bio of the Wokeflix account cited itself as a "comedy writer" and the image of the alleged screenshot in question featured a "Wokeflix Satire" watermark that appeared to be removed when other accounts later shared it.
(@wokeflix_ on X)
What Trump actually posted about India
The most recent instance of Trump referencing Modi directly on Truth Social occurred on April 22, 2025, when the president offered condolences to India following a terrorist attack in Kashmir. Trump posted, "Prime Minister Modi, and the incredible people of India, have our full support and deepest sympathies."
However, the fake screenshot shared online spread as the well-documented relationship between Modi and Trump was called into question following an authentic post from the president's Truth Social account in which he wrote, "Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country."
Trump further criticized India for buying "a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia … at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!" He concluded the post by threatening, "INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST."
Trump followed up that post by adding, "I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World."
So while the screenshot of Trump explicitly criticizing Modi originated as satire, it coincided with the president's real social media posts criticizing India's trade agreements with the U.S.
An official statement from the Indian government said it is "studying" the "implications" of Trump's declaration. The statement added, "India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months. We remain committed to that objective."