Washington: Former US President and Republican contender for the upcoming American elections Donald Trump heaped praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him his "friend" and the "nicest human being and a total killer". He shared his views on the Flagrant Podcast, hosted by Andrew Schulz and Akaash Singh.
"Modi, India. He's a friend of mine and the nicest human being. Before him being appointed as the Prime Minister, India was very unstable. On the outside, he looks like he is your father. He is the nicest human being. He's a total killer," Trump said during a segment.
Trump also fondly recalled the Howdy Modi mega event in Houston in 2019 attended by thousands of Indian-Americans. "They did a thing called Howdy Modi in Houston, Texas. It was me and him, we went up the stage and it was beautiful. It was like 80,000 people and it was going crazy. We were walking about. Today, maybe I won't be able to do that -- walking in the middle waving to everybody. We have a very good relationship," he said.
PM Modi and US President Donald Trump on Sunday addressed about 50,000 people of the Indian-American community in Texas. They pledged to fight terrorism and praised each other for their work and achievements. Not just this, PM Modi also gave showed support to Trump for his 2020 re-election and declared, ‘Abki Baar, Trump Sarkar’.
When Trump offered to help India against Pakistan
Without naming Pakistan directly, Trump said he had once offered to help PM Modi and India against its hostile neighbour. "We had a couple of occasions where somebody was threatening India and I said, let me help. I am very good with those people, let me help," he said. Trump said Modi replied very aggressively by saying, "I will do it. I will do anything necessary. We have defeated them for hundreds of years.
"You can probably guess (which country I am talking about). I said whoa, what happened there," he added. Trump further heaped praises on India, saying, "They (Indians) are all tough and they are all smart. He's a very good person... Some are good people and some aren't good people, but they are all at the top of their game."
Donald Trump and Narendra Modi shared warm relations during Trump's presidency from 2017 to 2021 with events like "Howdy Modi" in Houston and "Namaste Trump" in Gujarat. Their relationship provided a major boost to US-India ties, especially in defence and strategic cooperation, as both leaders turned their focus on countering China's growing influence.
Despite occasional trade disputes, their partnership remained solid, fostering deeper security collaboration through initiatives like the “Quad”. PM Modi has also enjoyed good relations with Democratic presidents like Barack Obama and current President Joe Biden. The White House rolled out the red carpet for him last year, touting deals on defence and commerce.
Trump earlier called Modi 'fantastic"
While speaking about the India-US relationship last month, Trump said he would meet PM Modi during the latter's visit to the United States, even though that meeting never materialised. "And Modi he is fantastic. I mean, fantastic man. These are a lot of these leaders are fantastic. You have to understand one thing. They're dealing, there are 100%. These people are the sharpest people. They're not a little bit backward. They are at the top," he said.
"They're at the top of their game and they use it against us. But India's very tough," he added. Prime Minister Modi visited the US from September 21 to 23, announced the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday, where he took part in the Quad Leaders' Summit in US President Joe Biden's hometown of Delaware and attended a mega community event 'Modi and US, Progress Together' on September 22.
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