US President Donald Trump praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an interview with The Axios Show, calling him a "great leader" and a "very tough cookie." Trump named Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two world leaders he admires most, highlighting India's growing trade relationship with the United States.
Trump on Modi's Leadership and India's Size
Trump described Modi as "very good" and noted that India has "had some very good numbers announced." He emphasized that Modi "stays out of wars, which is smart," and pointed out that India is "actually the biggest" with 1.5 billion people. Trump also commented on the bilateral trade, stating, "Modi's a great leader, and we do a lot of business with them, but now we do fair business. They used to really rip us off. I don't blame them for that. We had stupid politicians that allowed that to happen. But now we do a lot of business. They're not that happy about it because they used to do a lot better. But Modi's great."
Comparison with Xi Jinping and Tenure Claims
Trump used similar language for Xi, calling both leaders "classics." He added that if a film were made about either man, no Hollywood actor could play the part, and also praised Xi's appearance. Trump then claimed that India used to have leaders who remained in office for only six months or a year before Modi came to power, and that Modi has been in office for more than 12 years. The first part of this claim is factually incorrect: since 1998, Atal Bihari Vajpayee served as Prime Minister for six years (1998-2004), followed by Manmohan Singh for 10 years (2004-2014), before Modi took office in 2014. The only Prime Ministers with relatively short tenures were HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujral, each serving about a year.
Trump elaborated, "Somebody would be there for six months and then a year. And then all of a sudden, Prime Minister Modi ended up; he's been there for more than 12 years, very solid. And he does it through, like, there's a great calmness, and yet he's not a calm person. He's a very tough guy."
Meeting at G7 and Trade Friction
Trump and Modi met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France this week to repair a relationship that has come under strain over the past year. The India-US trade relationship has been a point of friction, while Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for ending the military standoff between India and Pakistan in May last year. The Modi government has consistently rejected that claim. India has publicly maintained that it does not and will never accept third-party mediation in its disputes with Pakistan.
