Washington: US President Donald Trump lavished praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is a “great leader” and “tough guy”, who has been in power for more than 12 years.
In an interview with Axios, Trump referred to China’s President Xi Jinping and Modi as the two greatest leaders he likes the most in terms of power and leverage, and the ability to execute on that.
“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,” Trump said in response to a question on the two greatest leaders he likes the most in terms of power, leverage and the ability to execute on that.
In the soon-to-be-released book Regime Change by New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, Trump is reported to have examined a document comparing his power favourably to that of historical figures including Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Stalin, Mao, and Hitler.
According to the authors, he read from the document, reciting the names and explaining how each fell short compared with his own position as US president. He reportedly noted that earlier leaders lacked modern advantages such as aeroplanes. The book describes the evident pleasure Trump took in the company of Mao, Hitler and Stalin, and the ease with which he placed himself among those who reshaped the world through conquest and fear.
The document, which Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday, concludes that his willingness to use power on a global scale makes him by far the most powerful person who has ever lived. The authors identify its writer not as a presidential historian, as Trump suggested, but as a longtime caddy and personal confidant to golfer Gary Player.
In the Axios interview, Trump repeatedly assessed power in terms of submission. He said G7 leaders accepted his joke that “I’m the boss”, and that Israel has “a lot of respect for me” and will “do as I say”. He claimed, “If it weren’t for me, Israel would not exist today.”
He described his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “good, but we have to keep him a little bit sane”. Trump took a similar tone towards Republican critics angered by his Iran policy, saying some former allies were “hardliners” whom he no longer respected. He insisted the outcome with Iran amounted to “unconditional surrender” and “regime change”, despite falling short of his initial demands.
