Once adored by Indians for his ‘pro-India’ image and charismatic demeanor, former U.S. President Donald Trump now faces a storm of indignation on the Indian internet. Fueled by Trump's decision to impose a 50% tariff on Indian goods due to India's purchase of cheaper Russian oil, netizens have taken to social media platforms demanding a boycott of American companies and criticizing Trump harshly.
Trump's Tariff and the Indian Uproar
In response to India buying affordable oil from Russia, Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods in two phases. This move has sparked outrage among Indian users, who have taken to platform X expressing growing anger against Trump. According to an analysis by India Today's Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) team, anger against Trump is spiraling in India, with terms like 'ban' and 'boycott' used in more than 47,000 posts targeting American companies over the past week.
Source: aajtak
Which Companies are Targeted?
Indian users have focused their frustrations on several major American companies. Over 10,000 posts on X call for a Coca-Cola boycott; 9,100 posts mention Facebook; 5,200 posts advocate boycotting Starbucks; and numerous posts critique Pizza Hut and KFC, with over 5,000 mentions.
From August 1st to August 7th (up to 3 PM), more than 10,000 posts have employed keywords such as 'Boycott USA,' 'Boycott US,' and 'Boycott America.'
Personal Attacks on Trump
The discontent extends beyond American companies, with many users launching campaigns against Trump using hashtags like #TrumpIsUnfitForOffice and 'Arrest Trump,’ resulting in 1,500 and 1,900 posts respectively.
Source: aajtak
Around 300 users have engaged in over 3,000 posts involving insults and personal attacks on the former president. Such outrage is not confined to India; globally, 284,000 posts on platform X have contained derogatory mentions of Trump in the last seven days.
Source: aajtak
Unprecedented Scale of Boycott in India
This marks the first time such a large-scale boycott demand against American products and companies has arisen in India. A similar protest emerged three months ago in Canada, where citizens rechristened the Americano coffee to 'Canadiano.' In Europe, discontent with U.S. foreign policies is turning people away from American brands.
Source: aajtak
Demand for High Taxes on Trump Tower
Social media is abuzz with demands for heavy taxes on the purchase of luxury apartments in Trump Towers located in cities like Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune. The Trump Tower project, spearheaded by the Trump Organization, began before Donald ventured into politics. The public fury stems from Trump profiting by applying tariffs to fill American coffers while making substantial profits from Trump Tower sales in India.
Although Trump famously called India an 'economically dead country,' he accrued 1.75 billion INR from the sales of Trump Tower units in India. In Gurgaon, all units in a new project were sold on the first day, and expansion continues in Noida, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore.
