Donald Trump praises PM Modi’s leadership, says ‘India has a great Prime Minister.’
Washington, DC: On Friday (local time), US President Donald Trump lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and said he was a “very smart man” and a “great friend.” He also expressed hope about the continuing trade discussions between the US and India.
In an interview with reporters during the swearing-in ceremony for Alina Habba, the US attorney for New Jersey, Trump praised PM Modi’s leadership abilities and called him a “great Prime Minister.”
According to Trump, “Prime Minister Modi was here just recently, and we’ve always been very good friends.”
India is among the countries with the highest tariffs in the world. They are quite intelligent. I consider PM Modi to be a highly intelligent guy and a good friend. Our conversations were excellent. The relationship between India and our nation is going to be excellent, in my opinion. “I also want to say that your prime minister is excellent,” he said.
PM Modi expressed gratitude on March 16 for Trump’s unwavering commitment to his nation, especially in the aftermath of last year’s assassination attempts. Noting that Trump sat in the crowd as he talked from the platform, Modi lauded Trump’s bravery and humility during their historic encounter at the “Howdy Modi” event in Houston in 2019.
“Howdy Modi, we have an event in Houston. The stadium was filled, and President Trump and I were both there. In the US, a large audience at an event is a significant event. This was unusual for a political event, even if crowded stadiums are typical in sports. He sat down below and listened to me while we both gave remarks. That’s his humility now. In an interview with AI researcher Lex Fridman, Prime Minister Modi said, “It was an amazing gesture on his part to have the President of the United States sitting in the audience while I spoke from the stage.”
Trump’s remarks followed Modi’s February visit to the US, during which the leaders declared their intention to expand economic connections between the two countries by negotiating the first phase of a multi-sector, mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by the autumn of 2025.
Trump said the decision was “very exciting” for the home industry when he announced a 25% duty on all imported autos entering the United States on Thursday, marking a major policy statement from the Oval Office.
Nearly half of all automobiles sold in the US will be affected by the tariffs, which are scheduled to go into effect on April 2 and include American brands built abroad.
The comprehensive policy seeks to encourage automakers to build more manufacturing plants within the United States.
“They have the highest tariffs” and “it is a hard place to do business” are two statements made by US President Donald Trump in reference to India.
President Donald Trump of the United States said in February that he would soon impose reciprocal tariffs on nations such as China and India, claiming that the United States will levy the same duties that these countries apply on American exports.
“We will soon impose reciprocal tariffs—they charge us, we charge them,” Trump said. We want to be fair regardless of what a business or a nation, like China or India, charges, so it’s reciprocal.”
“We have never done that,” he continued. Before COVID struck, we were preparing to do it.
Additionally, Trump explicitly criticized India’s vehicle import tariffs, claiming that “India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 percent.”
The reciprocal tax will go into effect on April 2, Trump said while speaking to a joint session of the US Congress. He said that almost every nation on the planet had been stealing from the United States for decades and swore to “not let that happen any longer.”
Along with discussing the tariffs imposed by China, Brazil, Mexico, and the European Union, he said that the US will apply tariffs on other countries in response to their behavior against the US.
