Trump claims Modi's support, India to maintain silence on US election

Even as Donald Trump claimed support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian-American community in his campaign to stay on in the White House for four more years, New Delhi is likely to maintain its official silence on the presidential elections in the United States.

“We have great support from India. We have great support from Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi. I would think that the Indian (Indian-American) people would be voting for Trump,” the US president told journalists at the White House late on Friday.

His comment has caused unease in New Delhi as India has so far been refraining from making any official comment on the US presidential elections.

Trump claimed support of Modi amid speculation that his rival Democratic Party’s candidate Joe Biden might have got an edge among the Indian-American voters after he picked Kamala Devi Harris as his running mate.

Harris, who is representing California in the US Senate since 2017, is the daughter of two immigrants to America – Shyamala Gopalan from India and Donald Harris form Jamaica.

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As she has been nominated to run for the US Vice President’s office, speculation is rife that Trump’s Republican Party might lose some of its Indian-American voters to her Democratic Party.

New Delhi, however, did not officially make any comment on the first-ever nomination of an Indian-American for the second top office in Washington D.C.– ostensibly in view of the bipartisan support in the US for strong relations with India.

Trump on Friday referred to Modi as a “friend” and lauded him for doing a great job as the Prime Minister of India. “Nothing easy, but he’s done a very good job,” said the US President.

The Modi-Trump friendship was on public display when the US President joined the Prime Minister during the “Howdy! Modi” event in Houston in September 2019. The event had a sequel - “Namaste Trump” - in Ahmedabad in February 2020, when Modi hosted Trump on his visit to India.

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“We had an event in Houston, as you know. And it was a fantastic event. I was invited by Prime Minister Modi and this was a massive (event)... And it was incredible. And the prime minister could not have been more generous,” said the US President.

“I also, as you know, went to India just prior to the pandemic setting in because India has been hit very hard, left really about a week before that, and we had an incredible time. What we saw the people are so incredible it is really an incredible place, an incredible country and its definitely big,” he said. “But you (Indians) have got a great leader and he is a great person.”

He also said his daughter Ivanka Trump and son Donald Trump Junior had a “very good relationship with India”.