'Modi wanted to have dinner with Trump at Camp David, White House said it's not in cards', claims book

The White House has described the book as "reckless" and a work of fiction. US President Donald Trump called it a "joke".

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to go to Camp David and have dinner with his US counterpart Donald Trump, a well known American writer claims in his latest book. In his controversial book, the writer Bob Woodward has written that Indian PM Modi wanted to dine and develop a personal bond with Trump in the luxurious presidential resort, but the White House Chief of Staff said ‘it’s not on the cards.’ Camp David is the country retreat for the President of the United States, where the President also meets his special foreign guests. The US presidents have hosted several top world leaders at Camp David. The book titled ‘Fear: Trump in the White House’ has already triggered a storm as it reportedly portrays Trump as chaotic, mercurial and uninformed. The White House has described the book as "reckless" and a work of fiction with the president calling it a "joke". The book has a small segment on India and PM Modi’s White House visit. The book is of 448 pages and claims to give an insider’s account on the the White House working under Trump. IUS’ then national security advisor HR McMaster is seen as batting for a strong relationship with India, in the book. Ahead of Modi’s visit, McMaster met with White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to prepare for his visit. The book says that Modi wanted to go to Camp David and have dinner, bond with Trump. "The prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, who had been courted assiduously by (Barack) Obama, was coming for a visit to the United States in June to see Trump. India was the counterweight to Pakistan, which was giving the new administration as much trouble as it had given previous ones by hedging maddeningly on terrorism. Modi wanted to go to Camp David and have dinner, bond with Trump," woodward writes in book. "It's not in the cards,' Priebus told McMaster. 'We're just going to do dinner here. It's what the president wants.'," Woodward quotes Priebus as saying. This made McMaster angry. "He (McMaster) understood the strategic importance of India, a sworn enemy of Pakistan. Outreach and strong relations were essential. The later event for Modi was a "no-frills" cocktail reception. The working dinner was at the White House," Woodward, the famed investigative journalist, writes in the book. (With inputs from PTI)