On the Flagrant Podcast, Donald Trump talked of his respect for the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, “He is a great guy, a friend of mine,” said Trump, “What a tremendous leader. He’s stabilized that country”. Further elaborating, Modi is a “killer” in the political front, although he maintains stiffed countenance. Discussing the 2019 *Howdy Modi* event in Houston, Trump said: “Your crowd was tremendous, our determination during the crisis. His really was a massive one.”. He also briefed on the serious intent of Modi to defend his country when it is threatened. According to him, Modi would “do anything necessary” for the sake of the nation.
"Modi is a nice human being and a great friend. Once, when somebody was threatening India, I said, ‘Let me help,’ but he (PM Modi) was like, ‘I will do it, I will do it, we have defeated them for hundreds of years.’" – Trump
Trump praises and mimics PM Modi. 😭🤣 pic.twitter.com/nS0bYeX63B
— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) October 9, 2024
At a time when the U.S. Presidential election is hogging the media limelight, Donald Trump made his views on Modi known during the podcast by Andrew Schulz and Akaash Singh. “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.”
He shifted the focus to the event Howdy Modi, in which he said, “It was gorgeous and they filled up the stadium.” But whenever there were threats to India, he was told that Modi would stand tall. Trump said he offered to help, saying, “Let me help, I am very good with those people.” But Modi’s stern reply was something else that touched Trump: “I will do it, I will do whatever is necessary, we have defeated them for hundreds of years”. Trump said, “He was referring to a specific nation; you can probably well guess the country. But I said, whoa, what happened there? They are all smart, and he is a really good guy.”
The close tie between Modi and Trump was seen at the Howdy Modi rally in Houston on 22 September 2019, when over 50,000 Indian-Americans gathered. The two leaders praised each other and underlined close ties between their nations. “Today and for our great countries, I am honored to address you all as a true friend of India,” said Modi. Trump talked about Modi’s leadership and the contribution of Indian diaspora:.
In February 2020, Trump traveled to India for the Namaste Trump event in Ahmedabad, which attracted over 100,000 people. It was one of Trump’s largest rallies outside the U.S. Trump appreciated Modi’s leadership and India’s economic growth as sharing common democratic values that bind both the nations together. Recently, Trump quoted that the “fantastic Modi” was coming to meet him for the Quad Summit, which did not work out.
