Will PM Modi meet Republican candidate Donald Trump in US elections? Here’s what we know

Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump said on September 17 that he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit that began Saturday.

At a rally in Michigan, Trump, who is running again for president, criticized India as a “big, big abuser” of trade, but described Modi as a “fantastic man.” “He just happens to be coming to meet me next week,” Trump said.

Modi left on Saturday morning for a three-day visit to the United States. During his visit, Modi will participate in the Quad leaders’ summit, deliver a speech at the “Future Summit” at the United Nations General Assembly and interact with the Indian diaspora.

No official confirmation yet

Will Modi meet Trump? So far, the government has not confirmed Trump’s statement that Modi will meet him. On September 19, two days before Modi’s visit, the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) refused to confirm or deny a possible meeting between Modi and Trump.

“We are trying to arrange many meetings with the prime minister at the moment,” Foreign Minister Vikram Misri said on Thursday, without ruling out a one-on-one discussion.

“I will not be able to tell you about any specific meeting, whether the meeting has been fixed or not,” he said, adding that Modi would engage with a host of business and industry leaders, among others.

Modi will be in the US from Saturday to Monday. According to his schedule, Modi will attend the sixth Quad leaders’ summit in Wilmington, Delaware, hosted by US President Joe Biden in his hometown on September 21, the first day of the prime minister’s visit.

In 2019, then US President Donald Trump hosted Prime Minister Modi in Texas at an event attended by around 50,000 people. A year later, Modi hosted Trump in his home state of Gujarat at an event attended by over 120,000 people.

“Embarrassing” during the US presidential elections

Some experts say the timing of the meeting between Trump and Modi would be awkward ahead of the US presidential election in November.

Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia program at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington, told the South China Morning Post that if Modi were to meet Trump, the timing of the visit would be not only awkward but also controversial, as the U.S. election is just two months away. Moreover, Kugelman added, there is no indication that Modi will meet Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.

“If he were to meet with Trump, and there was no meeting with Kamala Harris — whatever his motivations for having that meeting with Trump — there would be a strong perception that he has a preference,” Kugelman said.

Other experts, however, said the meeting between Trump and Modi would not be an indication that Modi would support the Republican candidate.

Harris, 59, is the first Indian-origin presidential candidate to run for the Democratic Party. Her mother is Indian. Today, there are about 5 million people of Indian origin in the United States, making them the largest Asian ethnic group and the second-largest immigrant group after Mexicans.

While Indian Americans vote Democrats more than any other Asian group, about 20% of them identify as Republicans, according to reports.