Friend of mine, nicest human being: Donald Trump heaps praise on PM Modi

Donald Trump recently lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to him as his "friend" and describing him as the "nicest human being".

In Short

• Donald Trump compares PM Modi to father figure, 'total killer'
• Recalls 2019 'Howdy, Modi' event in Houstan, Texas
• Says India was unstable before Narendra Modi's leadership

Former United States President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump recently heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him his 'friend' and the "nicest human being".

While speaking about his assessment of world leaders on the Flagrant podcast, Trump said, "Modi (India), he's a friend of mine and also the nicest human being. Before him being appointed as the Prime Minister, India was very unstable. On the outside, he looks like he's your father. He is the nicest and a total killer".

Further in his conversation, the former President also recalled the iconic "Howdy, Modi" event held in Texas in September 2019 when PM Modi addressed a large gathering of Indian-Americans at Houston city's NRG Stadium.

"They did a thing called Howdy, Modi in Houston, Texas. It was me and him and it was beautiful. It was a gathering of around 80,000 people and it felt like crazy. We were walking about. Today, maybe I won't be able to do something like that," he said.

Donald Trump also said that he shares a very good relationship with Narendra Modi, recalling a conversation which apparently involved India-Pakistan tensions.

Without directly naming Pakistan, Trump said, "On a couple of occasions, somebody was threatening India, and I told Modi, let me help as I am very good at it. To which he (Modi) aggressively responded, 'I will handle it and would do anything necessary. We have defeated them for hundreds of years.' And I said, whoa, what just happened there".

Both PM Modi and Trump share a close relationship. While PM Modi refers to Donald Trump as a "true friend", Trump reciprocates the gesture by applauding Modi's leadership and persona.

During his tenure as US President, Donald Trump arrived in India for the "Namaste Trump" event held in Gujarat's Ahmedabad. The event was attended by more than 1 lakh people, making it the largest rally conducted by a US President outside the country.

Recently, Donald Trump called PM Modi a 'fantastic person' and said he would meet the Prime Minister during his Quad Summit visit, but the meeting did not take place.