John Mearsheimer, one of America’s most prominent international relations scholars, has sharply criticized former U.S. President Donald Trump’s India strategy, calling it a “colossal blunder” that risks undermining Washington’s partnership with New Delhi.

Speaking on the “Daniel Davis Deep Dive” podcast, the University of Chicago professor said U.S. secondary sanctions aimed at penalizing India for buying Russian oil are doomed to fail. “It won’t work with India. The Indians have made it clear they will not cut off the importation of oil from Russia. Indians are not going to cave,” Mearsheimer said.

He argued that Trump had “poisoned” what had been a strong bilateral relationship at a time when Washington’s top foreign policy priority is containing China. “When Trump moved into the White House this past January, relations between the United States and India were really terrific. But with these secondary sanctions, we have poisoned relations with India,” he added.

Mearsheimer also pointed to a German media report claiming that Trump had unsuccessfully tried to call Prime Minister Narendra Modi on four occasions. “The Indians are furious with us. Modi refuses to talk to him. And furthermore, Modi is moving closer to the Chinese and the Russians. This is counterproductive,” he warned.

He singled out Peter Navarro, Trump’s senior trade advisor, for shaping what he described as a deeply flawed approach. “There’s nobody applauding this move except people like Peter Navarro. Are they going to argue India will cave? I don’t know anyone who believes that. Everything India has done so far says that argument is wrong,” Mearsheimer said.

The remarks highlight growing concern among U.S. experts that Trump’s policies could alienate India at a critical time in Indo-Pacific strategy.