Noted businessman and commentator Suhel Seth launched a blistering attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for reportedly backing former US President Donald Trump’s controversial “dead economy” jibe at India. Seth accused Gandhi of displaying a “self-loathing” so intense that it has, according to him, morphed into open disdain for the nation he represents within its own Parliament.
Seth’s remarks came in the wake of Gandhi’s comments aligning with Trump’s assessment of India’s economy, made amid a diplomatic flare-up triggered by the United States’ decision to impose a 25 per cent tariff and penalties on Indian exports. Trump, whose combative style and nationalist rhetoric defined his presidency, had labeled the Indian economy “dead,” prompting a flurry of criticism from Indian analysts and business leaders.
What shocked many, however, was Rahul Gandhi’s apparent concurrence with Trump’s statement a move Suhel Seth branded as “unpatriotic” and “disgraceful.”
“I am amazed how Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of India’s Opposition, sitting in our Parliament, hates India so much by calling the Indian economy a dead economy,” Seth said. “This man’s self-loathing has become unbearable.”
Seth did not mince words, asserting that Gandhi’s relentless criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had turned into something more insidious — a seething hostility toward the nation itself. “His bitterness and anger against PM Modi has become an anger against India… He needs serious counselling… You may hate PM Modi, but he got elected. He didn’t sneak in through the back door,” Seth lashed out, in a statement.
#WATCH | Delhi | "I am amazed how Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of India's Opposition, sitting in our Parliament, hates India so much by calling the Indian economy a dead economy. This man's self-loathing has become unbearable… His bitterness and anger against PM Modi has become an… https://t.co/VqLVgV4FuZ pic.twitter.com/vKEe1R4I4B
— ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2025
Drawing a provocative comparison, Seth lumped Rahul Gandhi and Donald Trump into the same “intellectual bucket,” implying that both are driven more by ego and theatrics than by reasoned policy or statesmanship.
“I treat Rahul Gandhi and Donald Trump in the same intellectual bucket. To misquote Robert Frost they don’t even know which paths they would take.”
Suhel Seth also took aim at Donald Trump himself, who has once again stirred tensions by slapping a steep 25 per cent tariff and additional penalties on Indian goods — a move widely seen as a coercive trade tactic aimed at cornering New Delhi. “Donald Trump is an unhinged rogue, who has no understanding of either economics or political discourse,” Seth said. “Most Americans are suffering because of his presidency. He is essentially a bully and a bully is almost always a coward.”
He argued that Trump’s unilateral measures reflect a deeply flawed understanding of global economics and diplomacy. Seth praised Prime Minister Modi’s resolve in not buckling under what he termed “pathetic relationship building.”
“If Trump believes that imposing penalties will bring India to its knees, he is wrong. Yes, there will be some trouble, but it will not wreck us as he imagines,” said Seth. “The stock market is a reflection of that. The markets today did not even care about Trump’s nonsense.”
Seth also pointed to the language and tone adopted by Trump in recent public comments as indicative of a dangerous strain of political thuggery that has no place in international diplomacy. “Look at the language Trump uses. It is not diplomacy. It is not statesmanship. It’s the vocabulary of a street brawler,” he said.
