President Trump on Wednesday impersonated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his absence during a stop in South Korea.
“He’s a killer, he’s tough as hell,” Trump said at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Changing his voice, Trump said, “‘No we will fight!’ I said, ‘Whoa, is this the same man that I know?'”
Trump was referring to the brief conflict between India and Pakistan in May. He called Modi “the nicest-looking guy” and said both countries were “nuclear nations” that wanted to fight each other.
“They both said that,” Trump said. “They’re warring — they’re strong people.”
Modi did not attend the summit over the worry that Trump would bring up Pakistan, Bloomberg reported. Indian officials worried that Trump would take credit for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, fueled by Pakistan nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
India denies Trump’s involvement in the four-day conflict with Pakistan, Bloomberg wrote.
Trump and Modi spoke on Wednesday about India no longer buying oil from Russia. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he was “not happy” about India buying Russian oil, but Modi assured him that oil purchases had ceased.
In August, Trump said he would increase tariffs on India by 25 percent for buying Russian oil, which brought the total tariffs imposed on the country to 50 percent.
Trump previously called on India and European countries to limit buying oil. He previously said India’s purchases of Russian oil were fueling Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
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