Washington: US President Donald Trump has singled out Prime Minister Narendra Modi as one of the world’s toughest leaders, a view he expressed both in a newly published Axios interview and during his recent bilateral meeting with the Indian leader in France.
In an interview with Axios, excerpts of which were published on Thursday, Trump named Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi as the world leaders he most admires.
According to Axios, Trump praised Xi as “all business” and PM Modi as “a very tough cookie”.
This closely mirrored Trump’s remarks during his meeting with PM Modi in Evian, France, where the two leaders met on the sidelines of the G7 outreach summit amid ongoing negotiations over a bilateral trade agreement and discussions on regional security.
Asked how close Washington and New Delhi were to finalising a trade deal, Trump responded with a lengthy tribute to PM Modi’s negotiating skills.
“Very close. We’ve been there for a little while. He’s a very tough negotiator, one of the toughest, actually,” the US President said.
Trump then described PM Modi as a leader whose mild public demeanour concealed formidable political instincts.
“So, you look at this man — I’ll give you a lesson — he’s the most beautiful looking man, he looks so nice, he’s like an angel. But actually, he’s as tough as — he’s a killer.”
“He’s as tough as they come, but he looks so good. So, he gets you by surprise,” the US President said.
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