Trump Praises Modi as 'Great Leader' and 'Tough Guy' Ahead of G7 Meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump has described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a 'great leader' and a 'very tough guy' who has been in power for more than 12 years. In an interview with Axios, Mr. Trump listed Mr. Modi and China's President Xi Jinping as the two leaders he likes the most in terms of power and leverage.

Mr. Trump said, 'I think Modi is very good. Yeah. They've had some very good numbers announced. He stays out of wars, which is smart. He's 1.5 billion people. He's actually the biggest. India's actually the biggest. And Modi's a great leader.' The remarks come as Mr. Trump and Mr. Modi met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France on Wednesday, amid strained relations between the two countries over the past year.

Mr. Trump noted that the United States does a lot of business with India, but added that in the past India used to 'rip us off.' He said, 'We do a lot of business with them, but now we do fair business. They used to really rip us off. I don't blame them for that. You know, we had stupid politicians that allowed that to happen. But now we do a lot of business.'

Praising Mr. Modi's long tenure, Mr. Trump said he had watched India over the years and seen leaders change often. 'Somebody would be there for six months and then a year. And then all of a sudden, Prime Minister Modi ended up; he's been there for more than 12 years, very solid. And he does it through, like, there's a great calmness, and yet he's not a calm person. He's a very tough guy,' he said.

Mr. Trump also lauded President Xi as a leader of great stature and confidence, saying that if one were to make a movie about either Mr. Xi or Mr. Modi, 'you wouldn't be able to find the man in Hollywood.' He added that Mr. Modi is 'just highly respected' and described him as a 'very tough cookie.'

In addition to Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi, Mr. Trump listed Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as leaders he likes.