Which US President Will Be Better For India?

In-person voting is still on in many parts of the United States. But, early results are pouring in from states where polling has closed. Democratic Party candidate and former vice president Joe Biden is taking on Republican Party’s nominee and incumbent President Donald Trump. California Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence are their respective running mates. Biden is currently ahead of Trump in the overall Electoral College vote tally.

But, things can still change. We need only look back four years to the Trump win to ascertain that.

The question for India remains, who will better serve India’s interests for the next four years, the incumbent or the challenger.

For all the hugging and the joint rallies and mangled soundbytes in Hindi, the Trump presidency has not exactly been smooth sailing for India-US relations.

Donald Trump was very happy to address stadium full of crowds with Modi. He almost got an endorsement with Modi speaking the words “Abki Baar, Trump Sarkar (this time, vote Trump).” But if you look at issues, the Trump presidency hasn’t been great for India.

Trump’s protectionist policies have hurt the Indian economy and his xenophobia has hurt Indian immigration visa-seekers. Good old-fashioned bullying has seen India forced India to go for more expensive oil deals.

Despite the India-China border tensions and common interests in checking their ambitions, Donald Trump has not given any assurances in terms of waivers on sanctions on arms deals.

Can Biden be better?