US President Donald Trump doubled down on his oft-repeated claim of ending a “nuclear” war between India and Pakistan on Thursday — insisting that tariffs were an effective deterrent. The POTUS deviated slightly from earlier assertions to contend that ‘eight planes were shot down’ as the conflict escalated. Trump claimed that he had received a call about both countries declaring a truce after threatening to withhold trade.

Trump told the America Business Forum Miami that he had been in the midst of negotiating trade deals with India and Pakistan when the conflict broke out. The US President claimed that he had refused to trade with either country until the crisis was resolved — telling the audience that it would have been “never happened without tariffs”.

“Seven planes were shot down, an

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