Several Indian mainstream news outlets, including India Today, The Economic Times and The Indian Express, misreported a statement by US President Donald Trump, claiming he said Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would have died if not for his intervention during the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict.
BOOM watched the address where Trump says that Sharif told him that 35 million people would have died had the conflict escalated into a nuclear confrontation. Additionally, during another address at the Board of Peace event on February 19, 2026, Trump had repeated a similar claim, stating that his intervention saved '25 million' lives.
President Trump delivered the State of the Union address on February 25, 2026, which is an annual address delivered to a joint session of the US Congress. In his address Trump reiterated his claim that he had “ended eight wars” in the first 10 months in office and that he prevented a nuclear-armed conflict between India and Pakistan.
The Claim: ‘Pakistan PM would have died if not for my intervention’, says Trump
News outlets such as The Economic Times, India Today, The Indian Express, The Print, ANI, misreported Trump's statement.
The Economic Times also shared an AI-generated graphic carrying the misleading quote: "Pakistan PM would have died if it wasn't for me: Trump on India-Pak War"
What We Found:
1) Trump’s State of the Union address
We watched the full State of the Union address and found that Trump did not say Shehbaz Sharif would have died if the India-Pakistan conflict had escalated into a nuclear confrontation. Instead, he said that Sharif told him 35 million people would have died if there was a nuclear war between the neighbouring countries.
This can be heard from the 1.31.49 timestamp in the live broadcast by The White House's official X handle. "My first 10 months, I ended eight wars, including Cambodia, isn't it funny? Sick people... Cambodia and Thailand... Pakistan and India, would've been a nuclear war ... 35 billion people, said the Prime Minister of Pakistan, would've died if it were not for my involvement."
2) Similar remarks by Trump at the Board of Peace event
During his February 19, 2026 speech at the Board of Peace event, Trump made a similar remark about preventing large-scale casualties during the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict, stating that his intervention saved “25 million” lives.
“He (the Pakistan prime minister) said in front of our Chief of Staff that President Trump saved 25 million lives when he stopped the war between us and India,” Trump had said in the address on February 19. This can be heard from the 14.53 minutes timestamp.
