Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a visit to the US from 21 to 23 September. His schedule is quite busy. There will be several bilateral and courtesy meetings, from the Quad summit and the United Nations General Assembly session. He is also scheduled to meet top CEOs and business leaders. Apart from this, he will also address the Indian community at an event of the expatriate community in New York.
Ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit, former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would meet PM Modi during his visit. The US is due to go to the polls on November 5 and Mr Trump is currently campaigning across the US.
Although Mr Trump has claimed that there will be a meeting between the two leaders, the Ministry of External Affairs today did not announce it as part of the Prime Minister’s programme.
When asked if PM Modi and Donald Trump will meet, the MEA spokesperson said, “There are a number of meetings being scheduled and the process is ongoing. At this point of time we cannot confirm any specific meeting. We are looking at it from various angles. If and when meetings with any of the leaders are scheduled and confirmed, we will let you all know.”
While campaigning in Michigan on Tuesday, Donald Trump said he will meet Prime Minister Modi during his visit to the US this weekend. He described the Prime Minister as “a wonderful person”.
Donald Trump said, “He (Prime Minister Modi) is coming to meet me next week and (Prime Minister) Modi, he is fantastic. I mean, fantastic human being. A lot of these leaders are fantastic.”
Speaking about Indians, Mr Trump said, “these guys are very smart people”, but India imposes heavy tariffs on imports, “they abuse tariffs a lot.”
“They are not lagging behind at all…you know, they are at the top of their game, and they use it against us. India is very tough. Brazil is very tough, China is the toughest, but we were taking care of China with the tariffs,” he said.
The United States is going to the polls on November 5 and postal voting has already begun in many states. Donald Trump, who is the Republican candidate seeking a second term in the White House, is pitted against Democrat candidate Kamala Harris, who is seeking her first term as president. Ms Harris is the current Vice President of the United States.
Recent election surveys show that Indian-origin Kamala Harris is ahead of Donald Trump.
A new poll released today shows Kamala Harris has a significant lead over Donald Trump in key states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, two “Blue Wall” battlegrounds seen as crucial to winning the White House in November.
In the latest poll of likely voters, Kamala Harris is leading Donald Trump 51 per cent to 45 per cent in Pennsylvania, and 50-45 per cent in Michigan, two states in the post-industrial Rust Belt in the US Midwest and Northeast.
