Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton has criticized Donald Trump’s recent assertion that he brokered peace between India and Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, calling the claim exaggerated and typical of the former US president’s self-promotional style.
Bolton remarked, “It’s nothing personal to India. This is Donald Trump, who takes credit for everything.” He added that Trump has a pattern of jumping in “before everyone else could take credit,” even if the facts don’t support his claims. “It may be irritating — probably is — to many people, but it’s just Trump being Trump,” Bolton noted.
The former NSA’s comments came after Trump took to the spotlight once again, declaring at a press conference with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, “We settled that whole thing… I think I settled it through trade.” He further asserted on his Truth Social account: “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire.”
Bolton, however, dismissed the idea that American intervention alone ended the hostilities, suggesting that Trump was overstating his role. The ceasefire came in the wake of India’s Operation Sindoor, a massive retaliatory strike on April 25 targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, after 26 civilians were killed in a terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22.
While Trump insists his diplomatic efforts prevented a “nuclear war,” Bolton’s rebuttal paints a different picture — one where Trump’s claims are more about optics than actual policy impact.
