US lawmakers raise concerns over Modi-Putin SCO Summit selfie, accusing Trump administration of harming India-US strategic ties. Photo: X.
A selfie of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin has alarmed the US lawmakers. The recent photo of the two leaders when PM Modi and the Russian President travelled in a same car during the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Summit, has sparked a debate in US. The US lawmakers are accsuing Donald Trump’s adminstartion of hurting the India-US relations and pushing the South Asian giant towards Moscow.
The famous selfie was recently shown in US Congress by Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove during a hearing on US foreign policy. She used the photo to make a point about India-US relations under Trump administration. During the hearing, the Congresswoman warned that the actions of Trump admin have pushed India closer to Moscow, while accusing US of undermining the important partnership.
“Trump’s policies towards India can only be described as cutting our nose to spite our face,” Kamlager-Dove said. She accused the Trump admin of using pressure tactics that is leading to “real and lasting damage to the strategic trust and mutual understanding between our two countries.”
Kamlager-Dove flashed the poster in in senate saying that this photo is worth a thousand words revealing how US has pushed India away.
“This poster is worth a thousand words. You do not get a Nobel Peace Prize by driving US strategic partners into the arms of our adversaries,” she said.
In her speech, while calling the move as a wake-up call for Washington, the congresswoman urged the US lawmakers to take urgent steps to control the damage that the US administration has done on the partnership between the two countries.
“Because let me be clear – being a coercive partner has a cost,” she said.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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