Overview
- President Donald Trump lit diyas in the Oval Office during a White House Diwali event attended by senior Indian‑origin officials, both countries’ ambassadors and CEOs from IBM, Adobe and Micron.
- Trump told attendees he spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about trade and reiterated that India would not buy much oil from Russia, and he also referenced urging no wars between India and Pakistan.
- India’s Ministry of External Affairs publicly said there was no phone call between the leaders and has rejected Trump’s repeated claim that Modi agreed to limit Russian oil purchases.
- The administration has raised tariffs on Indian imports to roughly 50% this year, including a recent 25% increase tied to New Delhi’s Russian oil purchases, as trade talks continue.
- Separately, FBI Director Kash Patel’s ‘Happy Diwali’ post on X drew a wave of racist and xenophobic replies from MAGA‑aligned accounts, which multiple outlets documented.