During his stormy tenure at the White House, the relationship of former US president Donald Trump with Prime Minister Narendra Modi made for often interesting headlines.
Both Modi and Trump praised each other and engaged in bear hugs and firm handshakes, but differences on trade issues were always visible. A protectionist trade policy was, after all, a key element of Trump's 'America First' political creed.
The real Donald Trump bears little resemblance to the ugly portrait drawn by his rabid haters. But he's also different than some of his admirers imagine him to be. Here's my story of Trump, up close and personal.
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) January 20, 2021
For the full interview:
WATCH: https://t.co/dlC5P2RaeM pic.twitter.com/aZrtL8GL02
During his state visit to India in February last year, Trump described Modi as being a "very tough negotiator" as the two nations tried, in vain, to finalise a trade deal.
Now days after Trump left the White House, a controversial rightwing commentator has made a startling claim about Trump's impressions about Modi.
Dinesh D'Souza is a Indian-American born in Mumbai who is considered a prominent voice in the US rightwing. D'Souza is commentator, author and filmmaker who became a fervent supporter of Trump.
On Thursday, D'Souza uploaded a video on Twitter giving his views on Trump, based on his interactions with Trump. In the video, D'Souza describes a visit by him and his family to the Oval Office in November 2019, where they met Trump. D'Souza said, "I asked him about the Indian Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi and Trump goes, with a kind of twinkle in his eye, 'well, you know, he is a stone-cold killer' and then he adds, 'but, other than that, he is a really nice guy'".
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D'Souza does not go into the specifics of what Trump meant about Modi during the meeting, in which he and Trump discussed the president's actions and his future plans. D’Souza suggested to Trump that he start a TV network, keeping his loyal political base in mind.
D'Souza tweeted in May 2019 after the BJP won the Lok Sabha elections that he was "not an unqualified fan of Narendra Modi". D'Souza had tweeted, "I’m not an unqualified fan of Narendra Modi but his re-election in India is another affirmation of the triumph of Trumpian nationalism over the cosmopolitan socialism of the Congress party. For the left, the reckoning is now worldwide".
D'Souza has over 1.7 million followers on Twitter. D'Souza was convicted of campaign finance fraud in 2014 and sentenced to five years’ probation. In 2018, Trump granted D'Souza a full pardon. Trump tweeted D'Souza "was treated very unfairly by our government".
