US President Donald Trump addressed reporters on Tuesday in New Delhi and spoke about multiple issues, from Kashmir and the CAA protests to trade tariffs between India and the US and his relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Here are the 10 key takeaways from his speech:
1. Trump again said that he was ready to mediate between India and Pakistan regarding Kashmir. "I didn't say anything about that (being mediator). Kashmir obviously is a big problem between India and Pakistan. They are going to work out their problem. They have been doing it for a long time," Trump said.
Kashmir has been a "thorn in a lot of people's sides" for a long time and there are two sides to every story, he said. "I have a good relationship with Imran Khan. I spoke with Modi on this," Trump said. "I will do whatever I have to do to resolve the conflict. I am willing to mediate between the two countries. There has been difficulty in Pakistan. Kashmir has been an issue for a long time. There are two sides to every coin. PM Modi is a very religious man, but a very strong person. He will take care of terrorism."
2. "PM Modi wants people to have religious freedom. However, I did not talk much about it with him as it is India's internal issue," said Trump, breaking his silence on the ongoing CAA protests across the nation.
3. Regarding trade relations between India and the US, Trump said, "We are being charged large amount of tariffs...I think you have to pay the highest tariff when you deal with India, Harley-Davidson has to pay tremendous tariffs when they send motorcycles here and when India sends to us, there is virtually no tariff." The US has to be treated fairly, he said.
4. Regarding the coronavirus outbreak that has struck multiple economies, Trump said that China was working very hard to contain the coronavirus. "It looks like they are getting it more and more under control," he said. "The US has kept the situation under control with the virus."
5. Trump spoke about radical Islamic terrorism during his interaction with the reporters. He said, "Nobody has done what I have done. We killed many ISIS terror leaders. Similarly, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria should do it too now."
He mentioned the US peace deal with the Taliban and said, "Yes, I spoke to PM Modi on it. I think India would like to see it happen. We are pretty close. Everybody is happy about it."
6. Trump said that he had a great time in India. "We had great meetings...this is a tremendous country. I think they like us more than they ever liked us. There is a great relationship between the Prime Minister and myself," he said.
7. When he was asked if Russia was trying to influence the US presidential polls, Trump answered that the intelligence agencies had never informed him about it.
8. In addition, Trump said, "India is incredible. Taj Mahal and everything that we have seen; I think it's an incredible country. There were so many people. I have never seen something like that. I admire India. I respect Modi."
9. He pointed out that Indo-US cooperation in the energy sector is expanding. Trump also stated that India is buying a lot of military hardware from the US government.
10. Donald Trump said that the US stock market will crash if he loses the election this year. Trump told business leaders stocks will jump higher if he is re-elected, but "if I don’t win you’re going to see a crash as you’ve never seen before."