Reflecting upon his love and affection for India and the good rapport he has with its leader, US President Donald Trump has said that he likes Prime Minister Narendra Modi and termed him a "great gentleman".
Prime Minister Modi is one of the few world leaders, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, with whom President Trump enjoys a close friendly relationship.
They talk with one another frequently, and their conversations normally do not appear in the public domain.
"I like Modi. I like your prime minister a lot. He is a great gentleman. (He is doing a) great job," Trump told White House reporters in an Oval Office exchange on Thursday.
For the second time in less than a fortnight, he confirmed of having spoken to Modi.
Neither the White House nor the Prime Minister's Office has issued readouts of the two telephonic conversations, but from Trump's public remarks, it appears that he and Modi talk to each other regularly.
Responding to a question, Trump acknowledged that he knew he was popular in India.
"I know (I am popular in India). They (people) like me in India. I think they like me in India certainly more than the media likes me in this country," he said.
From the very start of his presidency, Trump has gone out of his way to show his love and affection for Modi and India.
After the historic "Howdy Modi" event in Houston last September and "Namaste Trump" rally in Ahmedabad this February, Trump has not let any opportunity go without praising Modi.
"I just got back from India, right? I just beat COVID," he said.
The two leaders like each other a lot, given their frequent conversations and twitter exchanges.
Same is the case with other members of the president's family, who are genuinely in love with India and the Indian-Americans. Be it First Lady Melania Trump; the president's daughter and senior presidential advisor Ivanka Trump; son-in-law Jarred Kushner, also a presidential advisor, they all frequently tweet on India and Indian-Americans.
The president's son Donald Trump Jr, along with Kimberly Guilfoyle, advisor to Donald J Trump for President, Inc. And National Chair of the Trump Victory Finance Committees, also echos Trump's love for India and Indian-Americans.
"So much so, Prime Minister Modi praised Jared Kushner, saying that everything Jared does is positive, while addressing a crowd of 110,000 people at a rally for Trump in India," said Al Mason co-chair of the Trump Victory Indian American Finance Committee.
