After “Brahmins Profiteering” Controversy, Trump Aide Navarro Fact-Checked Twice By X Over India’s Russian Oil Purchase Claims

US President Donald Trump’s senior trade adviser, Peter Navarro, has once again courted controversy with repeated attacks on India’s trade policies and energy imports from Russia.

This time, however, his claims were promptly fact-checked and flagged as misleading by X (formerly Twitter), NDTV reported.

In a social media post, Navarro accused India of “profiteering” from discounted Russian crude, alleging that New Delhi’s purchases directly financed Moscow’s war effort.

“FACTS: India highest tariffs costs US jobs. India buys Russian oil purely to profit/Revenues feed Russia war machine. Ukrainians/Russians die. U.S. taxpayers shell out more. India can’t handle truth/spins,” Navarro wrote.

His remarks followed a string of similar criticisms, where he has described India as a “laundromat for the Kremlin” and controversially accused “Brahmins profiteering at the expense of the Indian people.”

However, X’s fact-checking community quickly intervened, calling out Navarro’s claims and providing context:

"India's Russian oil purchases are for energy security, not just profit, & don't violate sanctions. While India has some tariffs, the U.S. has a trade surplus with it in services. U.S. also continues to import certain commodities from Russia which is hypocritical," the X community note said.

Irked by the fact-check, Navarro escalated his attack, this time also targeting X owner Elon Musk.

“Wow. @elonmusk is letting propaganda into people’s posts. That crap note below is just that. Crap. India buys Russian oil solely to profiteer. It didn’t buy any before Russia invaded Ukraine. Indian govt spin machine moving high tilt. Stop killing Ukrainians. Stop taking American jobs,” he wrote.

Despite his 'rebuttal', fact-checkers once again appended clarification, and called Navarro's claims "hypocritical", underlining US double standards and reiterating that India’s oil trade remains lawful and necessary for its domestic needs.

"Navarro's claims are hypocritical. India's legal,sovereign purchases of Russian oil for energy security do not violate international law. The US,while pressuring India,continues to import billions in Russian goods, like uranium,exposing a clear double standard," another community note said.

Navarro’s comments come amid escalating trade tensions between India and US.

After Trump announced secondary tariffs on India, raising duties on some exports to above 50 per cent, Navarro declared the Ukraine conflict to be “Modi’s war.”

He has since launched multiple tirades, branding India the “Maharaj of tariffs” and alleging it runs a profiteering scheme by refining and re-exporting Russian oil.

His most recent remark about “Brahmins profiteering” drew sharp criticism for injecting caste into trade disputes, with many accusing him of perpetuating stereotypes.

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