Indian-Americans largely credit Donald Trump for deepening India-US ties, says close aide

Al Mason, a close aide of Former US President Donald Trump, said early Thursday that the Indian-American community in the United States "largely credit Trump for deepening the ties between the two countries".

Mason said US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have enjoyed "very warm relations and a strong bond between each other while the former president was in office".

"They [Indian American community] still recollect Trump's outreach during his presidency, to bolster the historic relationship between the United States and India, and to reach out to Indian American communities within the United States on a more personal level during his tenure as a president," Mason told news agency ANI.

Mason claimed that during Trump’s presidency, "one trend became overwhelmingly clear [that] Indian Americans, perhaps for the first time ever, felt both acknowledged and respected by the president of the United States."

"Therefore, a meeting between Trump and PM Modi next week in New York will further cement the bond between both the leaders," Al Mason said.

His comments came a day after Trump said he will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week. He also called the Indian Prime Minister "fantastic".

Trump said on Tuesday that India was a "very big abuser" of the US-India trade relationship. The Republican candidate for the US presidential election in November was speaking in Flint, Michigan.

PM Modi will be in the US this weekend to attend the Quad Leaders Summit in Wilmington, Delaware. Then on September 23, Modi will address the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Trump and Modi have had “warm relations” when the former was US president and he also visited India in 2020. During his rally, audience members wore “Namaste Trump” hats to welcome Trump, the Reuters report added.

Prior to that, PM Modi visited the US in 2019 and held a “Howdy, Modi!” rally in Texas, which was attended by more than 50,000.