Key facts
- Trump named Modi and Xi Jinping as the world leaders he admires most
- Called Modi a 'great leader' who 'stays out of wars, which is smart'
- Remarks come amid US–China trade tensions and India's strategic balancing
NDTV reports that US President Donald Trump, responding to a question about which world leader he admires most, named Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump described Modi as a "great leader" who "stays out of wars, which is smart" — a pointed endorsement of India's long-standing policy of strategic autonomy.
The remarks come at a moment of significant geopolitical complexity: the US and China are locked in an escalating trade war, while India has carefully maintained ties with both Washington and Moscow amid the Russia–Ukraine conflict. Trump's framing of Modi's restraint as "smart" effectively validates India's non-alignment approach on the global stage.
For everyday Indians, the comments carry weight because they signal continued warmth between the Trump administration and New Delhi, which has implications for trade negotiations, defence deals, and the broader India–US partnership at a time when the global order is being actively renegotiated.