In the online discourse, India has an incredibly poor reputation and the increase of Indian immigration to the West has done everything but improved the image of Indians. India as a nation is not known for its sanitation and is notorious for scammers and poor customer service. In business, they are notorious for bribery to where US law does not forbid companies from paying bribes as a means of passing through government obstruction. However, when they come to America, they bring those practices with them.
With the help of SBA loans, the so-called Patel Mafia was able to dominate the motel industry in America. Similar assistance, public and private, enabled Indians to buy up the convenient store market across America, which while might seem insignificant, does have the negative externality of selling vices to the American people. They further bring their idolatry to the borders, erecting their hideous monkey statues. The Biden Administration flooded America with foreign truckers which led to the fatalities in Florida where a south Asian trucker was performing the third world driving maneuver of turning around in a highway median. In late 2024, Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Pharma CEO who pumped and dumped a failed Alzheimer drug, called Americans lazy compared to Indians.
The most cited grievance about Indians in America is the despised H1B visa program whereby Indians come to America and are given skilled labor positions at American firms, most notably in tech. These are entry level positions which should be going to American college graduates, of which STEM fields occupy five of the top ten unemployment fields for unemployed graduates. This group further practices a high degree of in-group preference whereby they hire other Indians which demographically terraforms entire companies.
Whereby Indians are known for arbitraging the Twitter/X monetization system, there are pro-India interest groups that sought to tap into MAGA influencers. Now, it is an open secret that large Twitter/X accounts will accept money from interest groups to promote narratives; however, when these groups attempt to manipulate MAGA through these accounts, they tend to reveal frauds in the mix. During the summer, the soda lobby attempted to manipulate the MAGA movement to oppose RFK’s regulation on the ability to purchase soft drinks with SNAP benefits.
The pro-India interest groups employed the same tactics on the MAGA movement at a time when the Trump Administration is pressuring India with tariffs over its transshipment of Russian oil to Europe. Their message was primarily a juxtaposition of India with China, contending that India has been an ally of America and that China is the real threat.
The content of the tweets is not so much false as China is guilty of stealing tech, espionage, and is a general adversary to American interests, but these do not nullify the claims against India. Russia is considered an adversary of America, so India’s “legal” purchase of oil which is then transshipped to Europe quite literally pretext for American displeasure. Regardless of one’s views on the Ukraine War, this is not a friendly act towards America, which is reflected in President Trump’s policy.
Other bylines for this coordinated campaign include DC Draino’s argument that the media is hostile towards El Salvador, Argentina, and India, which is a subtler approach to juxtaposing these nations against China. Where it is only leftwing media that attacks El Salvador, it is primarily the Right that attacks India.
Accounts that peddled this campaign have been documented by the account Aesthetica, who includes in his breakdown the following: Gunther Eagleman, who since deleted the tweet; Chuck Castello; Election Wizard, who has denied receiving payment and since deleted his tweet; American AF; Ryan Fournier, of Students for Trump; DC Draino, Matt Wallace; Community Notes & Violations; Hood Action News; and Elijah Schaffer, who wrote an article at The Gateway Pundit defending the notion that India is profiting off of Russian oil. Aesthetica has also done excellent reporting on the Scottish girls who brandished weapons while being harassed by a gypsy pervert.Â
Many of these are slop accounts, but they all have large audiences, which is why they are solicited for influence. A sponsored tweet can range from hundreds to thousands, depending on the client, possibly tens of thousands for the right account. Because the talking points come from the interest group, that is why there is uniformity in pitting India against the CCP, which is specifically called such rather than just China.
Elijah Schaffer’s contribution, while only alleged, is tied to an article which is associated with the coordinated campaign. The article was from August 26, which predates most of the tweets. Coincidentally, Schaffer is currently embroiled in a controversy for reciting a Patrice O’Neal joke about women and holes while making a “give head to get ahead” joke, which unironically is how Kamala Harris became Vice President. Nevertheless, the article blames western oil companies for profiting off the Ukraine War:
India has not broken with global policy frameworks. It has operated within the price cap, absorbed barrels others could not, and provided stability to global oil markets at a time of crisis. If anything, its role has helped prevent even greater oil price spikes that would have hurt American consumers.
That leaves a final question: who truly arbitraged the Russia-Ukraine war? The numbers point not to India, but to Western oil companies whose profits reached record highs. Recognizing this reality is essential for applying diplomatic and economic pressure most effectively in furtherance of the President’s goals.
Often times we blame foreign countries for our problems, when in fact, the problems stem from greed within our borders
It should be noted that a few dollars per barrel times a million per day for being a pass-through is still a lucrative operation, especially in a country where the dollar goes much further. When the Trump Administration claims that India is the “laundromat” of Russian oil, there is a palpable need for America to project strength against Moscow. Back in June, America was nearing a deal with Iran, which was likely a ploy to leverage Tehran against Moscow, until a certain country in the Middle East tanked the negotiations. Pressuring India is a means to give a Trump card in his pursuit of peace in Ukraine. It also advances the administration’s trade agenda against a nation notorious for receiving outsourced American jobs.
To his claim that it prevents oil prices from spiking, long-term energy prices are expected to rise, along with all other commodities like precious metals or coal, as commodities are stores of value (one of the functions of money). This is in part because commodities are a hedge against global inflation.
Pundits like Elijah Schaffer are pushing the pro-India narrative as a means to countersignal the Trump administration on foreign policy and trade, which for Schaffer is consistent with his Groyper-level pessimism. The groypers, a term associated with followers of Nick Fuentes, loathe Vice President JD Vance for having an Indian wife while his administration is playing hardball on India, yet someone who is groyper-adjacent is writing a fluff piece parroting Indian government talking points. What is the justification for caring enough to write such an article? To make Americans hate oil companies instead of a foreign country that is stealing American jobs and degrading the quality of life?
Even if the rhetoric is hyperbolic, it is still red meat for a political base that is increasingly hostile towards India over the H1B issue. Weaponizing political support (or lack thereof)Â in a negotiation is the art of the deal. The MAGA base wants a more punitive posture towards India. The justification towards that end is irrelevant to the movement. While many have critiqued Schaffer for his jokes, peddling the pro-India narrative is far more concerning as to the quality of his content.
Conclusion
As India becomes the recipient of well-deserved animus on the Right, it is unsurprising that their interest groups attempted to manipulate MAGA to turn the tide. Apart from a few high-profile cases, MAGA is generally averse to China, but China being worse does not make India an ally, especially when Indian nationals are stealing American jobs from American workers. Like the call centers that scam people, this scam was also obvious and was quickly called out.
