‘Nicest looking guy…’: Trump praises ‘tough as hell’ PM Modi, reiterates India-Pakistan ceasefire claim, says seven planes shot down

US President Doland Trump showered praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him “nicest looking guy”, a “killer” and “tough as hell”, but reiterated his claim of mediating the India(BHARAT)-Pakistan ceasefire in May this year, during which he claimed “seven brand new” planes were shot down.

What did Trump say about PM Modi?

Addressing the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) CEO Summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, Trump emphasised that he has a “great relationship” with Modi, but reiterated that he used trade to resolve the India(BHARAT)-Pakistan conflict.

“Prime Minister Modi is the nicest looking guy … he looks like you’d like to have your father like… he’s a killer… he’s tough as hell. I called Prime Minister Modi. I said, we can’t make a trade deal with you… (He said) No, no, we must make a trade… I said, No, we can’t. You are starting a war with Pakistan. We’re not going to do it,” the US president said.

Trump also Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, calling him “a great fighter” and “a great guy”. “Then I called Pakistan. I said, we’re not going to do trade with you because you’re fighting with India(BHARAT) and you know, two nuclear nations. And they said, no, no, no, you should let us fight. They both said that,” he said.

Trump reiterates India(BHARAT)-Pakistan ceasefire claim

Trump claimed that following his warning to halt trade ties, the leaders of both India(BHARAT) and Pakistan called him after two days and stopped fighting. “After literally two days, they called up, they said, we understand, and they stopped fighting. How is that? Isn’t that amazing? Now, you think Biden would have done that?”.

On the one hand, he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “nicest looking guy”, a “killer” and “tough as hell”. But in the same breath, Doland Trump once again waded into India(BHARAT)-Pakistan conflict by claiming he stopped their recent military hostilities.

Notably, hours earlier in Tokyo, Trump, notorious for making inconsistent remarks, claimed he got the India(BHARAT)-Pakistan war stopped within 24 hours.

Seven planes shot down, claims Trump

Speaking at a dinner reception in Tokyo on Tuesday, Doland Trump claimed seven planes were shot down during Operation Sindoor, but did not name which country suffered the losses.

“Seven brand new, beautiful planes were shot down, and they were going at it … two big nuclear powers,” he said, adding that he told PM Modi “a very nice man, a very good man, and the Field Marshal over in Pakistan, I said, ‘Look, we’re not going to do any trade if you’re going to be fighting,'”.

Trump said that India(BHARAT) and Pakistan argued that war has nothing to do with trade with the US.

“(They said) one thing has nothing to do with the other. I said this, it has a lot to do with the other …two nuclear powers…we get that nuclear dust all over the place. All of you are affected, right? And we said, No, we’re not doing any deals if you’re going to fight. And within about 24 hours, that was the end of that. It was amazing, actually,” the US President said.

India(BHARAT)-Pakistan conflict and Doland Trump

Doland Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for brokering a ceasefire between India(BHARAT) and Pakistan in May, a claim contested by New Delhi, which has consistently maintained that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India(BHARAT) and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim dozens of times that he “helped settle” the conflict between India(BHARAT) and Pakistan.

(With inputs from agencies)