Ex-USAID chief praises Trump for India tariffs in call with Russian pranksters

Former USAID Administrator Samantha Power has praised US President Donald Trump for imposing tariffs on India.

In a prank call with Vovan and Lexus, in which the Russian comedians posed as former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko, Power described the 24% tariffs on most imports from India for purchasing Russian oil as the “only good thing” the president has done.

“I am pleased with the sanctions done against India around buying the oil,” Power said in the call. “This is the only good thing that Trump did.”

Power remarked that the sanctions could potentially “deter Modi from buying so much oil.” She added that the Biden administration “did not do this.” 

Power, a former journalist and diplomat, was the administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) from 2021 to 2025. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has sought to reduce government funding for the agency, temporarily freezing new aid and slashing over 90% of USAID programs, arguing that the money should be spent at home rather than abroad. 

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Power has backed regimes hostile to Russia, and in the call with the Russian pranksters, she cited expanded aid to Moldova under President Maia Sandu as one of her successes. 

In August, the US imposed a 25% tariff on India over its purchases of Russian oil and weapons, in addition to the 25% tariff imposed earlier in the month when the two countries failed to arrive at a trade agreement, bringing the total tariffs to 50%.

Russia has been India’s biggest supplier of oil to India since 2022, accounting for around 40% of its oil imports.

New Delhi has called Washington's penal tariffs “unjustified and unreasonable.”