NEW DELHI: "Pakistan PM would've died if it were not for my involvement," US President Donald Trump claimed during his State of the Union address, appearing to misspeak while referring to military tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations, India and Pakistan, in May 2025.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump reiterated his role in facilitating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. During his State of the Union address, he informed lawmakers that his involvement had prevented a possible nuclear confrontation between the two nations.
It remained uncertain whether that was his intended meaning, as he went on to highlight his efforts to avert a broader conflict. Trump pointed to what he described as commendation from Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, claiming he had saved “35 million people” and casting himself as the key figure in easing military tensions.
"In my first 10 months, I ended eight wars... Pakistan and India would have had a nuclear war. 35 million people said the Prime Minister of Pakistan would have died if it were not for my involvement..." Trump said in his address.
He appeared to misspeak, but in the longest State of the Union address ever, he likely meant that Pakistan’s prime minister said 35 million people would have died without Trump’s intervention.
Trump has repeatedly claimed he brought India and Pakistan to the negotiating table and prevented a wider conflict. India, however, has firmly denied any third-party mediation in reducing tensions during Operation Sindoor, launched in response to the Pakistan-sponsored Pahalgam terror attack.