A new report by the New York Times makes similar claims made earlier by a German newspaper about US President Donald Trump trying to reach out to PM Modi several times. The new report claims that POTUS made several calls in recent weeks, but Modi did not respond.
Modi-Trump Spoke On June 17
The last confirmed phone call between Modi and Trump took place on June 17, during the G7 Summit in Canada. Trump had abruptly left the summit and called Modi from Air Force One while flying back to Washington.
A bilateral meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the G7 was cancelled. During the call, Trump invited Modi to make a stopover in Washington, but the request was declined as Modi had a scheduled visit to Croatia.
Indian officials later explained that New Delhi was apprehensive about Trump attempting to engineer a handshake or photo opportunity with Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Asim Munir, who had also been invited to the White House for lunch at the same time.
Trump Imposes 50% Tariffs On India After Modi’s Snub
Since that call, ties between Washington and New Delhi have deteriorated. Trump imposed a 50 percent tariff on Indian goods and suspended negotiations on a potential trade deal after India refused to open its agriculture and dairy markets.
Trump’s team later attempted to arrange another call between the leaders to push forward a partial trade agreement. But Indian officials, wary of Trump’s unpredictability, resisted.
According to a senior Indian official cited by the NYT, New Delhi feared that Trump would post misleading claims on his Truth Social platform, regardless of what was actually discussed.
Trump’s Unanswered Calls And India’s Nobel Peace Prize Snub
With trade talks stalling, Trump became increasingly frustrated and attempted to reach Modi “several times,” according to NYT. These attempts went unanswered by Modi.
White House spokeswoman Kelly, however, denied to NYT that Trump had reached out to the Indian leader.
The tensions between the two leaders had been building for months. In May, Trump unilaterally claimed credit for brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan through trade pressure – a statement that left New Delhi baffled. He even provided arbitrary figures about fighter jets shot down during the hostilities.
On the June 17 call, Trump returned to the subject, boasting about his role in ending military escalation. He told Modi that Pakistan intended to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, an award he had openly sought. According to the report, Trump implied that Modi should also back his nomination.
The Indian Prime Minister pushed back, insisting that the ceasefire had been a direct agreement between India and Pakistan without US involvement, according to NYT.
Also Read: US Court Says Trump Has No Power To Impose Tariffs – Are They Still In Effect?
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
