Longstanding friend of India and PM Modi, Trump promises to solidify 'great partnership' in second innings

Donald Trump, who made a historic comeback on Wednesday, has already promised to strengthen the "great partnership" with India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his second term, continuing the close ties he forged in his first term.

Last week, in his Diwali greetings, Trump said: "Under my administration, we will strengthen our great partnership with India and my good friend, Prime Minister Modi".

Much before he had joined the election fray in 2015, Trump had familiarity with India as a businessman with interests in the country, participating in projects in Pune and Mumbai.

That gave him a realistic insight into India, different from what other US politicians get from government, diplomatic, and activist sources.

"The perception about India has changed with Modi at the helm," he told reporters during a business visit to India. "The optimism is returning".

He called PM Modi a unifier, "bringing people together".

Trump also enjoyed popularity in India: a poll in 2019 found that 56 per cent of Indians had confidence in him to do the "right thing" in world affairs.

As president, Trump formed a bond with Prime Minister Modi, whom he has repeatedly embraced as a friend.

On Wednesday afternoon, PM Modi was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Trump on his election triumph.

"Heartiest congratulations my friend, Donald Trump on your historic election victory. As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity," PM Modi posted on X.

Quick to grasp the importance of India, Trump had hosted PM Modi at the White House within six months of being sworn-in as the 45th US President in January 2017.

The "getting-to-know-you" meeting yielded a close friendship between the two leaders who shared outlook on the conduct of politics and diplomacy, and a robust nationalism, which ran parallel in some areas.

In the run-up to the 2020 election, the two leaders showed off their friendship at a Houston rally, the 'Howdy Modi' programme, and at the 'Namaste Trump' event at Ahmedabad cricket stadium which was attended by more than 100,000 people.

Trump said he was impressed by PM Modi’s ability to draw crowds, both in India and the US.

As the US president, he took the resurgent relations with New Delhi further, elevating India in US geopolitical strategy as a bulwark against China.

He revived the Quad, the four-state group that besides India and the US also includes Japan and Australia.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar reminded everyone during an event in Canberra on Tuesday that, "In terms of the Quad, it was revived under a Trump presidency in 2017. It was then moved from the level of a permanent secretary to a minister, also during the Trump presidency”.

The US military’s Pacific Command was also symbolically renamed by Trump to 'Indo-Pacific Command' emphasising the embrace of India.

Prime Minister Modi’s 'Act East' policy and Trump's turn to the Indo-Pacific were complimentary.

In an earlier campaign speech this year, Trump called PM Modi the "nicest human being" and added, "On the outside, he looks like he's your father. He is the nicest – and a total killer" - reflecting PM Modi's ability in negotiating trade deals.

While Trump can be expected to be interested in military cooperation, defence manufacturing in India would put PM Modi’s 'Make in India' policy on a possible collision course with his 'Buy American, Hire American' stance.

That will also be a factor in other areas like silicon chips and solar panels as PM Modi plans to make India a global manufacturing hub.

Like manufacturing, trade will be an area of conflict for India and the US under Trump. He has threatened stiff tariffs on imports, especially as retribution for high tariffs imposed by other countries.

During his earlier term, Trump singled out the customs duties on Harley motorcycles and whiskey from Kentucky and cancelled the Generalised Scheme of Preferences concessions for some imports from India.

In a recent campaign speech, he emphasised that India was among the countries that take advantage of the US and was a "very big abuser" in trade.

He has threatened stiff tariffs on imports, especially as retribution for high tariffs imposed by other countries and these could affect India though realities of geopolitics and the supply chain could make Trump soften his line to India.

His grandiloquence and quest for international stature as a peacemaker also came into play when he offered to mediate between India and Pakistan, although the two countries agreed that their disputes were bilateral matters that are to be dealt with without any third-party involvement.

Interestingly, Trump has warned of a purge of the Justice Department and its agencies, given their pursuit of him. That could affect the future course of the alleged murder-for-hire plot against a former RAW officer Vikash Yadav.