Who's better for India: Donald Trump or Kamala Harris?

In foreign policy, ideologies do not matter, interests do. India's approach to either presidency will be to maximise our interests

- SACHIN KALBAG

There are 68 days left for the US presidential elections. More Indians seem to be invested this time in who is going to reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the next four years than in most American elections in memory — the prime reason being that one of the candidates is of Indian heritage. The discussion then veers onto another old trope: who is better for India? Donald Trump or Kamala Harris?

This is simultaneously a good and meaningless question. It is a good question because, for any American election, given the people-to-people relations the two countries share, the President’s views on India and the neighbourhood are important. It is also a meaningless question in the current context because Kamala Harris, just because her mother is Indian, will not be granting undue favours to New Delhi.

Yet, we must attempt to answer this because India’s policymakers will have to be ready for both eventualities.

To understand both scenarios, we need to keep in mind that India’s relationship with the United States is that of a strategic partner, something that was reiterated and strengthened during the June 2023 state visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington DC and other American cities. India is not an ally of the US; it is a partner. It a subtle but important distinction. An ally implies hierarchy; a partner means that we sit at the negotiation table as equals.

We will also need to be ready for both presidencies dispassionately. In foreign policy, ideologies do not matter, interests do. Therefore, India’s approach to either a Trump or a Harris presidency will be to maximise our interests.

There are five major pillars on which the strategic partnership will stand for the next two decades at the very least: Immigration and people-to-people contact, high-tech investments especially semiconductors, defence cooperation, the Indo-Pacific, and trade.