New Delhi: Hours after he congratulated Donald Trump for crossing the number of votes needed to win the presidency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he “had a great conversation” with Trump and that he felicitated the president-elect for his “spectacular victory”.
Trump for his part said during the conversation on Wednesday (November 6) that the whole world loved Modi, adding that India was a “magnificent country” and Modi a “magnificent man”, sources said.
He continued to say he considered Modi and India a “true friend” and that the Indian prime minister was one of the first world leaders he spoke to after declaring victory on Wednesday.
Having won more than the halfway mark of 270 electoral college votes – his count currently stands at 292 as opposed to Democratic opponent Kamala Harris’s 224 – the Republican Trump is set to become a two-time US president and country’s 47th overall.
The 78-year-old dubbed his victory a day after polling took place “the greatest political movement of all time” and said “this will truly be the golden age of America”.
In his post on X about his conversation with Trump – whom he called a “friend” for the second time in a day – Modi said he looked forward to “working closely together once again to further strengthen India-US relations across technology, defence, energy, space and several other sectors”.
Modi also congratulated Trump on Wednesday afternoon, saying he was keen on “renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership”.
“Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity,” Modi had also said.
Trump and Modi have enjoyed generally warm relations. During Modi’s 2019 visit to the US, the two appeared at a “Howdy, Modi!” event in Houston, Texas. Modi also hosted a rally for Trump called “Namaste Trump” in Ahmedabad when he visited India in 2020.
In September this year, Trump said during a campaign event in Michigan that Modi was “fantastic”, however also saying that India was “a very big abuser” when it came to trading with the US.
He had also claimed that Modi would meet him during the latter’s visit to the US that month, but a meeting did not materialise.
And in an appearance on a podcast last month, Trump described Modi as “great”, “a friend of mine” and that “on the outside he looks like he’s your father, he’s the nicest … total killer”.
Along with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, Trump is scheduled to take the oath of office in Washington on January 20, 2025.
