The Daily Populous Wednesday August 27th, 2025 morning edition
Authored by indiatoday.in and submitted by WonFont

US President Donald Trump made at least four attempts to talk to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone in recent weeks, but the Indian leader refused to talk to him, according to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine. The Mainz-based newspaper of record suggests this to be the result of the "depth of his [Modi's] anger, but also his caution".

The attempts by President Trump to talk to PM Modi came even as his administration hit India with 50% tariffs, the highest for any country other than Brazil.

The Indo-US ties, cultivated over 25 years, hit a rough patch with Trump targeting India for being trade surplus. DC also imposed penalties on New Delhi for India buying crude oil from Russia.

"FAZ claims that Trump tried to call Modi four times in recent weeks but that Modi refused the calls," posted Thorsten Benner, Co-Founder and Director of the Berlin-based Global Public Policy Institute, on X, sharing a copy of the newspaper report.

FAZ stands for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Zeitung means newspaper in German.

"I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together," Trump remarked July 31.

Modi on August 10 took a veiled dig Trump's "dead economy" remark, asserting that India was progressing towards becoming one of the world's top three economies.

FAZ noted the signs that "Modi was offended".

It also noted that Trump's approach typically allowed him to capitalise on other countries' dependence on the US market. But Modi "resisted this" in Trump's first term, maintaining a cooperative relationship with Trump without compromising India’s economic interests.

But FAZ noted that the surprising element of this situation was Trump's repeated attempts to persuade Modi to yield.

"The fact that the Indian still refuses to talk demonstrates the depth of his anger, but also his caution", the report by the German newspaper stated.

FAZ then went on to explain the reason behind the caution.

Trump had previously renegotiated a trade pact between the US and Vietnam, which had been painstakingly arranged by delegations, during a single phone call with General Secretary To Lam.

Without reaching an agreement, Trump announced on social media that a trade deal had been struck. "Modi doesn’t want to fall into the same trap," FAZ said.

"America's strategy isn't working," says Mark Frazier. "The American concept of an 'Indo-Pacific' alignment, in which India would play a central role in the US's containment of China, is collapsing." According to Frazier, co-director of the India-China Institute at the New School in New York, India never intended to commit to siding with the US against China.

FAZ also noted that Trump’s construction projects in India have also stirred controversy. Near Delhi, the Trump family company built luxury towers under his name. The 300 apartments, priced up to twelve million euros, sold out in a single day in mid-May, FAZ reported.

But after Trump claimed that he alone had secured a ceasefire in the recent India-Pakistan military conflict, there was anger on the Indian side.

"The fact that Trump announced he would develop oil reserves with Pakistan, which India would then purchase from its arch-enemy, didn't make matters any better", the report stated.

"Even the fact that Trump hosted Pakistan's army chief, Asim Munir, for a working dinner in the Oval Office was perceived in India as a provocation," it added.

FAZ noted that old tensions in New Delhi are easing. Since meeting Xi last year, Modi said he has felt above all "respect."

Later this week, he will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, raising questions about whether Trump is pushing India toward China.

"India needs China more than China needs India," says Frazier. "India’s shift is strategic, not just a response to US tariffs. With the US retreating, India and China share interests in global influence and industrial growth. For China, India is key to boosting its global economic and geopolitical position".

MODI AND TRUMP'S LAST PHONE CALL ON JUNE 17

According to India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Modi spoke to Trump at the President's request on June 17. The two were to meet on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada, but Trump returned to the US earlier than scheduled.

"After this, at the request of President Trump, both leaders spoke over a phone call today (July 17). The conversation lasted approximately 35 minutes," the MEA said in the statement released on June 18.

The MEA said Trump expressed his condolences on the call on the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and also expressed his support against terrorism.

"This was the first conversation between the two leaders since [the attack and Operation Sindoor]," the MEA said, adding "Hence, Prime Minister Modi spoke in detail about Operation Sindoor with President Trump."

Trump had claimed that it was his mediation and trade offers that made India and Pakistan agree to a ceasefire in May after four days of war. New Delhi rejected the claim on multiple occasions.

"Prime Minister Modi clearly conveyed to President Trump that at no point during this entire sequence of events was there any discussion, at any level, on an India-US Trade Deal, or any proposal for a mediation by the US between India and Pakistan," the MEA said of the June 17 call between the two leaders.

"The discussion to cease military action took place directly between India and Pakistan... and it was initiated at Pakistan's request. Prime Minister Modi firmly stated that India does not and will never accept mediation. There is complete political consensus in India on this matter," it stated.

CalifornianHunger on August 26th, 2025 at 15:57 UTC »

Modi: "This f--king guy keeps calling me to ramble on and on about windmills and Joe Biden.."

BlueHeartbeat on August 26th, 2025 at 14:28 UTC »

Checks phone.

Puts it in Do Not Disturb mode.

CrackSnap7 on August 26th, 2025 at 14:22 UTC »

There's a reason countries don't willy nilly slap tariffs on other countries.