Trump Recounts Modi Calling Him ‘Sir,’  Seeking Meeting, Pressing For Delivery Of Apaches

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India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – President Donald Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally sought a meeting with him and addressed him as “sir,” recounting the interaction as he spoke about India during remarks at the House GOP Member Retreat.

Trump began by describing how Modi approached him over long pending defense orders, particularly Apache attack helicopters. “India ordered 68 Apaches, and Prime Minister Modi came to see me. Sir. May I see you, please?” Trump said, mimicking the exchange. He added that Modi pressed him on the issue of delays, telling him India had been waiting for years. “I mean, I had India coming to me, sir. I’ve been waiting five years. We’re changing it. We’re changing it,” Trump said.

The president framed the anecdote as part of a pattern, where he repeatedly portrays Modi and India as deferential, and then inserting a familiar refrain about their personal rapport. This time too, Trump said he shared a strong relationship with the Indian leader, describing him as a friend and “a very good man.”

While striking a cordial tone personally, Trump also pointed to underlying tensions in the relationship, particularly on trade. He said Modi was unhappy with him over tariffs imposed by the United States. “He’s not that happy with me because, you know, they’re paying a lot of tariffs now,” Trump said, referring to duties levied during his administration. He defended tariffs as a powerful economic and national security tool, arguing they bring in large revenues and force trading partners to make concessions.

Trump’s comments on India came against the backdrop of renewed tariff threats. Just days earlier, he warned that higher tariffs on Indian goods remained an option. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on January 4, Trump said the US could raise tariffs on India if New Delhi did not cooperate on curbing purchases of Russian oil. At the same time, he acknowledged that India had reduced its oil imports from Russia “very substantially.”

Trump used India’s Apache helicopter order to criticize delays in US defense manufacturing. He told lawmakers that weapons systems were taking too long to reach both American forces and foreign buyers. “The F-35s, it takes too long to get them, the Apache helicopter,” he said, citing India’s experience as an example of why production timelines needed to be accelerated.

India has been among the largest buyers of US defense equipment over the past decade, purchasing transport aircraft, helicopters, and surveillance platforms as part of a growing strategic partnership with Washington.