US political scientist Carol Christine Fair used a Hindi swear word when speaking of President Donald Trump in an interview that has gone viral recently.
In her conversation with Pakistan-origin British journalist Moeed Pirzada, she explained how the US was only about six months into Trump’s second presidential term, and had “four (more) years of this … of this c**tiya”.
She had been responding to a question from Pirzada about whether Washington’s latest moves indicated a move past its 25-year-old policy of India’s relevance as a counterbalance to China in Asia.
The two of them, who had been solemn till this point in the conversation, suddenly chuckled at Fair’s use of profanity.
“This is the word I keep on saying in Urdu. Many of my viewers object to it. You’ve ended up using it in an English discussion,” Pirzada said, laughing.
At other points during the interview, she even expressed doubt at the handling of various matters by the Trump administration.
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“I can’t speak for the patina of officials in the Trump administration … Unfortunately, many of the Trump officials are not terribly expert in their field. So it’s very tempting to just take down as the singular force that matters. But one does have to remember that we have this complicated bureaucracy and this bureaucracy has been really working toward this relationship for these 25 years.”
Netizens had a field day as the video spread online, with many calling her views “refreshingly honest”. In that regard, the US political scientist and author has been known for her outspoken views on India, Pakistan, and US policy in the Indian subcontinent.
This interview comes amid the release of an official statement from the US, imposing an additional 25 per cent “sanctions” on India, bringing the total tariff rate on New Delhi to 50 per cent. Despite the risk of alienating New Delhi, the Trump administration has justified the move by saying that the new tariff was a response to “threats to the United States by the Government of the Russian Federation”.
The deadline for the imposition of the new tariff rate on India is August 27.
