Washington, January 23: The United States President Donald Trump has reportedly mimicked an Indian accent to imitate Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his conversation about the US’ decision of sending more troops into Afghanistan.
According to a news report in The Washington Post, Modi had, during his visit to the White House in June 2017, told Trump that “never has a country given so much away for so little in return”, referring to the US campaign in Afghanistan.
“To Trump, Modi’s statement was proof that the rest of the world viewed the United States as being duped and taken advantage of in Afghanistan,” the report quoted unnamed officials in the White House as saying.
It is in that context, the Post said, “Senior administration officials said the president has been known to affect an Indian accent and imitate Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
The White House did not respond to a request for confirmation or denial of the report.
This is not the first time that Trump has reportedly adopted a fake Indian accent. While he was campaigning in 2017, the US President had adopted the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) electoral slogan – “Ab Ki Baar, Modi Sarkar”. He rechristened the slogan to as “Ab Ki Baar, Trump Sarkar” and reportedly said in the fake Indian accent in a campaign video.
Trump had called Modi a “true friend” and both share a cordial relationship.
In 2017, Modi hosted Ivanka Trump, daughter and informal advisor of Trump, when she led a 360-member delegation to a business summit in Hyderabad.
With inputs from Agencies