The effects of differences in climate base state are related to processes associated with the present‐day South Asian monsoon simulations in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 (E3SMv2) and the Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2). Though tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean base state sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are over 1°C cooler in E3SMv2 compared to CESM2, and there is an overall reduction of Indian sector precipitation, the pattern of South Asian monsoon precipitation is similar in the two models. Monsoon‐ENSO teleconnections, dynamically linked by the large‐scale east‐west atmospheric circulation, are reduced in E3SMv2 compared to CESM2. In E3SMv2, this is related to cooler tropical SSTs and ENSO amplitude that is less than half that in CESM2. Comparison to a tropical Pacific pacemaker experiment shows, to a first order, that the base state SSTs and ENSO amplitude contribute roughly equally to lower amplitude monsoon‐ENSO teleconnections in E3SMv2. Plain Language Summary: Two different Earth system models are analyzed to investigate how differences in simulated base state tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) amplitude affect the processes associated with the South Asian monsoon. Though tropical SSTs are over 1°C cooler in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 (E3SMv2) and there is overall reduced Indian sector precipitation, the regional pattern of South Asian monsoon precipitation is similar in the two models. More significantly, monsoon‐ENSO teleconnections are reduced in E3SMv2 compared to Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2) due to cooler mean tropical SSTs combined with ENSO amplitude in E3SMv2 that is less than half that in CESM2. Key Points: Base state differences in Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 (E3SMv2) compared to Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2) include cooler tropical Indian and Pacific sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and reduced ENSO amplitudeBase state differences in the two models do not appreciably affect simulations of the regional patterns of South Asian monsoon precipitationCooler SSTs and lower amplitude ENSO in E3SMv2 combine to contribute about equally to weaker monsoon‐ENSO teleconnections compared to CESM2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]