Trump lauds Modi as ‘total killer’

WASHINGTON: Republican White House candidate Donald Trump praised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “total killer” on Wednesday as he discussed foreign leaders during a media blitz for the final stretch of the election campaign.

“He´s great. He´s a friend of mine,” Trump told a podcast with millions of subscribers hosted by stand-up comedian Andrew Schultz. “On the outside he looks like he´s your father. He´s the nicest. Total killer.”

Trump and Hindu-nationalist Modi enjoy warm relations and the former US president has a sizable following among right-wing groups in India, who see him as a kindred spirit aligned with their hostility towards Muslims. The pair heaped praise on each other in a joint appearance at a stadium in Houston in 2019, touting a close, personal alliance in front of tens of thousands of Indian-Americans.

Some 50,000 people attended the event -- dubbed, with a Texan twang, “Howdy, Modi!” -- and it was billed as the largest gathering ever by a foreign leader other than the pope in the United States. Modi hosted Trump at an even bigger US-style rally in his home state of Gujarat during Trump´s last year in office, before an estimated 100,000 supporters.

Trump -- who, like Modi, has been accused of discriminating against Muslims -- has stood by the Indian leader through multiple controversies, including the revocation of autonomy for held Kashmir.