Trump is sending a ‘great friend’ to India. Some see him as a ‘slap in the face’

He’s published books authored by Donald Trump, raised millions for his 2024 campaign, and helped him staff Washington with loyalists during the US president’s second term.

Now Sergio Gor is set to become Trump’s man in India, while also overseeing US relations with other South and Central Asian countries.

Last week, Trump announced that he was promoting Gor, his personnel chief, to be the next US Ambassador to India. He called Gor a “great friend” and someone he could “fully trust” to deliver on the agenda.

The 38-year-old’s appointment comes at a time when relations between the two countries have become strained due to Trump’s punishing tariffs on India.

Gor’s appointment has evoked mixed reactions in India, with some observers saying that having a close Trump aide in the post is a positive sign for India-US ties. But others have questioned Trump’s decision to share his India envoy with South and Central Asian countries, which includes Pakistan, with whom India shares a tense relationship.

Experts say that Gor’s broad regional mandate threatens to expose India to an overreach by Washington in its affairs with Pakistan, including on the Kashmir issue – a red line for India.

“The special envoy’s additional designation will likely create some challenges, at least in India. India typically prefers not to be “hyphenated” with Pakistan,” says Alyssa Ayres from the Council of Foreign Relations, an American think-tank focussed on US foreign policy.

Lawrence Haas, a former senior White House official and senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, says that it could also be Trump’s way of signalling to Delhi that he doesn’t think the role of ambassador to India needs to be a full-time job.

“I imagine that India’s leaders will feel slighted and insulted, which will further strain US-India relations,” Mr Haas told the BBC.

India found itself in a similar situation in 2009, when the Obama administration reportedly considered appointing Richard Holbrooke as special envoy to Pakistan, Afghanistan and India.

Delhi reportedly lobbied against the move, leading to Holbrooke being appointed envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Trump, however, is no Obama.

Unlike his predecessor’s caution, Trump openly claimed credit for brokering an end to a recent four-day conflict between India and Pakistan – a claim India flatly denied, insisting no outside power played a role in the ceasefire.

The Trump administration has also been bullish in its demands from India in a prospective trade deal, seeking greater access to dairy and farming, sectors India has been keen to protect.

It remains to be seen if Gor’s presence in India will help smooth out such bumps and strengthen Washington-Delhi ties, or if he is here to crack the whip on Trump’s biddings.

Bill Drexel, a fellow at the Center for Strategy and American Statecraft at the Hudson Institute, says that because decision-making is largely driven by Trump, having an India envoy who’s close to him could be a major asset to India-US ties.

“But there may be a steep learning curve given his [Gor’s] limited diplomatic and regional experience,” Mr Drexel says.

Ms Ayres echoes a similar view. She says that Gor’s closeness with the president could help “break through” potential policy logjams.

Mr Haas, however, says that Gor’s lack of diplomatic experience could pose a problem in an already strained relationship and that the US should have picked an envoy who could help improve the situation.

“Instead, I suspect that Delhi will interpret this appointment as a slap in the face and further evidence that Trump doesn’t care about the relationship,” he says.

Gor is said to get along not just with Trump but the entire Trump clan, including Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Donald Trump Jr.

Kushner has called Gor “easygoing” and “trusted”. Former congressman Matt Gaetz recalled his fun-loving side, noting he once DJed at MAGA parties in Palm Beach during Trump’s exile. Western media, however, largely cast him as one of Trump’s most reliable foot soldiers – someone who gets the job done.

Gor is known for vetting presidential appointees for loyalty to Trump. In June, Elon Musk branded him a “snake” after The New York Post reported that Gor had not filed the paperwork for his own permanent security clearance. The White House insisted Gor held an active clearance and is “fully compliant” with requirements.

Gor’s origins are both unclear and interesting. Though he has been known to describe himself as being Maltese, he was born in 1986 in Uzbekistan when it was still a part of the Soviet Union. He reportedly spent much of his childhood in Malta before moving to the US at 12.

Gor is reported to have been interested in Republican politics from his school and college days, when he went by the name Gorokhovsky, which he later shortened to Gor.

In 2008, he became a junior staffer at the Republican National Committee and one of his jobs included wearing a squirrel costume at events to highlight Barack Obama’s ties to an organisation Republicans accused of indulging in voter fraud.

After two years at Fox News, Gor worked with several Republican politicians before joining Trump’s fundraising team in 2020.

A year later, he co-founded Winning Team Publishing with Donald Trump Jr., which has since released multiple Trump books, including the photobook Save America. Since 2022, he has owned a house in Florida, a short drive from Mar-a-Lago, where he is a frequent visitor.

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