Washington, DC [US]: Former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin, took a sharp jab at former US President Donald Trump, ridiculing his habitual tendency to take credit for global events — including the recent India-Pakistan cessation of hostilities.
In an interview with media, Rubin said:
“Donald Trump likes to claim credit for everything. If you ask Donald Trump, he single-handedly won the World Cup. He invented the Internet. He cured cancer. Indians should be more like Americans in this regard and not take Donald Trump literally.”
The comment came in response to Trump’s boast that his administration “helped broker” an immediate halt to hostilities between India and Pakistan, following escalating tensions earlier this month after India launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives.
Rubin: US Diplomacy Key in De-Escalation, But Trump Overstates Role
Rubin emphasized that US involvement in Indo-Pak crises is expected and necessary, but Trump’s public statements often blur diplomacy with self-promotion.
“Whenever Pakistan and India come into conflict, the United States tries to mediate behind the scenes — and this is reasonable,” Rubin said. “The U.S. tries diplomatically to provide an off-ramp to prevent unrestricted warfare and, in a worst-case scenario, a nuclear exchange.”
He added that both New Delhi and Islamabad often use Washington as a backchannel, a reality Rubin described as “obvious,” contrasting it with Trump’s exaggerated public claims.
Trump’s Claim: “We Stopped a Nuclear Conflict”
During a press appearance on Monday, Donald Trump credited his team with preventing what he described as a potential “bad nuclear war” between India and Pakistan.
“We stopped a nuclear conflict. I think it could have been a bad nuclear war. Millions of people could have been killed,” Trump told reporters.
“My administration helped broker an immediate cessation of hostilities… and we also helped with trade. I said, ‘If you stop it, we’re doing trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade.’”
Trump also praised Indian and Pakistani leaders for their “unwavering and powerful” response to his diplomatic efforts, while thanking Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their roles.
Background: Operation Sindoor and Indian Precision Strikes
India’s Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, came in response to the April terror attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 civilians. In a swift military retaliation, India conducted precision strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK), killing over 100 terrorists and later responded to subsequent Pakistani military aggression by targeting Pakistani airbases.
India has maintained that the conflict was forced upon it, and that it had both a right and responsibility to respond to cross-border terrorism.
Conclusion
Rubin’s remarks reflect the broader sentiment among U.S. policy experts who recognize the value of quiet diplomacy while pushing back against Trump’s grandstanding. As India redefines its counterterrorism doctrine with assertive military responses, and the geopolitical landscape continues to evolve, Rubin’s critique highlights the importance of facts over flash in global diplomacy.