US President Donald Trump praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is a “great leader” and a “strong man” who has been in power for more than 12 years.
In an interview with Axios, Trump referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Modi as the two greatest leaders he admires most in terms of power, influence and ability to execute on that.
“I think Modi is very good. Yes. He’s been putting out some very good numbers. He’s staying away from wars, which is smart. It’s 1.5 billion people. It’s actually the largest. India is actually the largest. And Modi is a great leader,” Trump said in response to a question about the two greatest leaders he most admires in terms of power, influence and ability to deliver.
Trump said that the United States does a lot of business with India, which used to “steal us.”
“And we deal with them a lot, but now we’re doing fair business,” Trump said. “They used to steal our money. I don’t blame them for that. You know, we had stupid politicians who let that happen. But now we’re doing a lot of business.”
“They’re not happy about it because they used to do much better,” Trump said. “So Modi is great.”
The US President praised Xi and described him as a leader of great stature and great confidence.
“If you were to make a movie about either of them, you wouldn’t be able to find the guy in Hollywood,” Trump said.
“Modi is in a completely different way. He’s very respected. I know the real Modi is a very difficult person. I’ll tell you, I’ve gotten to know some that I didn’t know well,” Trump said.
Trump and Modi met on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France on Wednesday in an attempt to repair the relationship between the two countries, which has been under tension over the past year.
Trump said he has watched India over the years and has seen leaders change often.
“Someone might be there for six months and then for a year. Then all of a sudden, it’s over with Prime Minister Modi,” Trump said. “He’s been there for over 12 years, and he’s very strong. And he does it, as if there’s a great calm, and yet he’s not a calm person. He’s a very strong man.”
The US President then mentioned Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as leaders he admires.
