Trump reveals conversation with PM Modi when ‘someone’ threatened India

Former US president Donald Trump has opened up about his camaraderie with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hailing him as a “good friend” and the “nicest human being”.

Speaking on the Flagrant podcast with Andrew Schulz, Trump also revealed the instance when someone threatened India, leading to an aggressive response from PM Modi which shocked the Republican leader. 

“On a couple of occasions, somebody was threatening India, and I told Modi, let me help as I am very good at it,” said Trump.

“To which he (Modi) aggressively responded, ‘I will handle it and would do anything necessary. We have defeated them for hundreds of years.’ And I said, whoa, what just happened there,” Trump added. 

Trump also looked back on the mega election rally called ‘Howdy Modi’ which he participated in alongside the Indian PM in Houston, Texas during the latter’s visit in 2019. 

“Modi… India, he’s a friend of mine, he’s great. Before him, they were replacing them every year, very unstable. On the outside, he looks like your father, he’s the nicest guy, but he’s a total killer,” said Trump. 

“They did a thing called Howdy Modi in Houston, Texas. It was me and him and it was beautiful. It was a gathering of around 80,000 people and it felt like crazy. We were walking about. Today, maybe I won’t be able to do something like that.”

Later in 2020, when Trump visited India, the Indian PM organised a huge rally for him, an event which also marked the opening of the world’s largest cricket stadium. Over 100,000 people attended the rally, making it the largest gathering for a US president on foreign soil.

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Ahead of PM Modi’s US trip last month to attend the Quad Summit and address the United Nations General Assembly, Trump had announced that he would be meeting the “fantastic” Indian leader. 

However, the meeting could not be formalised as New Delhi reportedly wanted to stay from Washington’s domestic politics, especially with the presidential election on the horizon. 

Trump is contesting against Vice President Kamala Harris and Modi meeting him would have been seen as an active endorsement by New Delhi, something which the Indian leader wanted to avoid. 

(With inputs from agencies)