Trump’s ‘Friend Modi’ To Harris’ Indian Heritage: How India Came Up Again & Again On US Poll Campaign Trail
With the US presidential election set to end, ABPLive takes a look at why and how India was discussed by rivals Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
India has come up more than once on the US presidential election campaign trail, not least because the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, has Indian roots. There are other factors too — the clout of the Indian American diaspora in the US and Delhi’s strengthening partnership with Washington.
ABPLive takes a look at when, why and how India came up in speeches as former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump and US Vice-President Harris hit the campaign trail for the supercharged election.
On India Tariffs
Speaking in Michigan last month, Donald Trump vowed to introduce a reciprocal tax if elected to power, alleging that India, among all major countries, imposes the highest tariffs on foreign products.
“Perhaps the most important element of my plan to make America extraordinarily wealthy again is reciprocity. It’s a word that’s very important in my plan because we generally don’t charge tariffs. I started that process, it was so great, with the vans and the small trucks, etc,” he said in Detroit, as reported by news agency PTI. “We really don’t charge. China will charge us a 200% tariff. Brazil is a big charger. The biggest charger of all is India.”
On ‘Fantastic’ Modi
As he attacked India as an “abuser” in trade, Trump referred to PM Narendra Modi as a “fantastic man”. The speech came just before Modi’s three-day visit to the US for the Quad Summit.
“He’s fantastic. I mean, fantastic, man. A lot of these leaders are fantastic,” Trump told supporters at a town hall in Flint, Michigan, in September, as quoted by Al Jazeera.
In October, in response to a question on a podcast, he referred to Modi as a friend. “Modi, India. He’s a friend of mine. He’s great… Before him, they were replacing them every year. It’s very unstable. He came over. He’s a friend of mine. But on the outside, he looks like he’s your father. He’s the nicest, but he’s a total killer,” he said, as reported by PTI.
‘India-US Partnership’
As he extended Diwali wishes through a post on X, Trump said that, as President, he would work to strengthen the US’ “great partnership” with India. In the same post, he criticised the persecution of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh amid the current “chaos” in the country.
I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2024
It would have never happened on my watch. Kamala and Joe have ignored Hindus across the…
“We will also protect Hindu Americans against the anti-religion agenda of the radical left. We will fight for your freedom. Under my administration, we will also strengthen our great partnership with India and my good friend, Prime Minister Modi,” he said.
Harris’ Indian Roots
In an op-ed last week, Kamala Harris, whose mother was a scientist who moved to the US from Tamil Nadu, talked about her Diwali visits to India.
“Growing up, my mother raised my sister and me to appreciate and honour our heritage. Nearly every other year, we would go to India for Diwali. We would spend time with our grandparents, our uncles, and our chitthis,” Harris said in the op-ed for The Juggernaut, an online South Asian publication, PTI reported. Harris has struck a nostalgic note with respect to India on other occasions during the campaign as well.
She also mentioned how she had, as Vice-President, “expanded our relationships with key South Asian partners, including India”.
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