President Donald Trump managed to get through to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi following a series of humiliating phone call snubs.
Modi repeatedly ignored Trump’s calls for months, according to reports, as the president slapped a punishing 50 percent tariff on Indian imports.
Although the White House previously told the Daily Beast that claims of Modi giving Trump the cold shoulder were “completely false,” the president was quick to trumpet his long-awaited chat with India’s leader on Tuesday.
“Just had a wonderful phone call with my friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I wished him a very Happy Birthday! He is doing a tremendous job.” Modi’s 75th birthday on Sept. 17 has already arrived in India due to the time difference.
The two men had apparently not spoken since a contentious call on June 17, according to The New York Times.
Trump, 79, signed off with self-flattery, quoting praise supposedly coming from Modi: “Narendra: Thank you for your support on ending the War between Russia and Ukraine!”
Though Trump was touting his friendship with the prime minister on Tuesday, he had only recently vented on Truth Social over America’s “one sided disaster” of a relationship with India, after Modi was spotted cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Chinese summit of anti-Western coalition leaders.
In the post, the president also railed against New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil, which he says is indirectly funding Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Modi also commemorated Tuesday’s reconciliatory call in an X post, writing, “Thank you, my friend, President Trump, for your phone call and warm greetings on my 75th birthday. Like you, I am also fully committed to taking the India-US Comprehensive and Global Partnership to new heights. We support your initiatives towards a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.”
However, there has been no indication that India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer, is rethinking its purchase of Russian oil. While no official trade deal has been announced, New Delhi called negotiations “positive” on Tuesday.
Modi had grown frustrated in recent months after Trump boisterously suggested in June that he had “solved” the military conflict between India and Pakistan and implied that Modi should nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, according to the Times.
But as India appeared to move closer to American adversaries such as China and Russia, Trump signaled that his relationship with Modi was on the mend in another Truth Social foreign policy briefing last week.
“I am pleased to announce that India, and the United States of America, are continuing negotiations to address the Trade Barriers between our two Nations,” he wrote. “I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Modi, in the upcoming weeks. I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries!”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
The post World Leader Finally Picks Up the Phone for Giddy Trump appeared first on The Daily Beast.
