US President Donald Trump has claimed that the number of aircraft shot down during the May 2025 military clash between Pakistan and India has now reached 10.
Speaking in an interview with Fox Business aired Wednesday, Trump commented while the host praised his “reciprocity policy” in trade. Trump said, “And that’s being very nice and gentle. Look, I settled eight wars. Out of the eight wars, at least six were settled because of tariffs.”
He added, “In other words, I said, ‘if you don’t settle this war, I’m gonna charge you tariffs because I don’t want to see people getting killed.’ And they said, ‘no, what does this have to do with it?’ I said, ‘you’re gonna be charged.’”
Referring specifically to India and Pakistan, Trump said, “Like India and Pakistan would’ve been a nuclear war in my opinion. They were really going at it. Ten planes were shot down. They were going at it.”
Over the past 10 months, Trump has repeatedly mentioned aircraft losses during the conflict, initially citing five jets, then raising it to seven in October, and eight in November.
Trump also mentioned that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised him for “saving at least 10 million lives when he got us to stop fighting.” The US president claimed, “Without tariffs, that ceasefire would not have happened.”
He additionally referred to his involvement in reducing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, citing a peace agreement in August 2025.
During the interview, Trump boasted about his trade record, saying that “every single” US president in the last 50 years had failed on trade, while he claimed, “But I’m not bad on trade. I’m real good on trade.”
US Relations With Pakistan and India
Trump previously met PM Shehbaz Sharif in the Oval Office in September 2025, where the Pakistani leader thanked him for helping broker a ceasefire during the four-day May 2025 conflict.
The military tensions started in April 2025 after a deadly terror attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir, which Islamabad strongly denied being involved in. The conflict ended in May following a ceasefire declaration, which Trump credits to his intervention and trade-related threats.
Trump has repeatedly praised Chief of Defence Forces and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, calling him a “highly respected general,” a “great fighter,” and “my favourite.”
India, however, has rejected Trump’s claim that the ceasefire resulted from his efforts. Following initial strains in US-India relations, Trump later announced a trade deal with New Delhi. Subsequently, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited the US for three days and held talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.