How the Trump-Modi Bromance Became a Train Wreck
By J. J. Ghosh | 09 Sep, 2025

The remarkable similarities between the leaders of the US and India can't keep their relationships from turning into one of the world's great train wrecks.

About two-thirds of the way through the most recent James Bond movie, Bond finds himself face to face with Safin, the film's villain. 

“James Bond,” Safin proclaims, “I could be speaking to my own reflection.”

It’s an admission that while the two may by all accounts be adversaries, they are ultimately cut from the same cloth. 

And it may be similar to the sentiment that President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared the first time they met.

Trump and Modi, imaged as the lead characters of 1988's 'Twins'

Trump and Modi are, after all, polarizing male leaders of the two biggest democracies in the world.  They’re two massive personalities known to mock and even retaliate against their political adversaries and are especially known for targeting the Muslim community.

Trump has largely aligned himself with fundamentalist Christians whereas Modi is a Hindu nationalist.  Which is to say that while both are known for throwing red meat to their base, the exact type of meat may differ slightly.

As the New York Times wrote just last week, “The story of Mr. Trump and Mr. Modi is about two brash, populist leaders with big egos and authoritarian tendencies, and the web of loyalties that help keep both men in power.”

But while similar personalities may tend to clash, this particular relationship has appeared to be far from adversarial. At least, until recently.

Campaign Strategy

Modi and Trump at the joint 'Howdy Modi!' rally in Houston

Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 by ousting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s center-left Congress Party.

Singh, who had been involved in Indian politics for some time, was known for his quiet and mild-mannered nature.

British outlet the Independent hailed him as “a man of uncommon decency and grace.” In his memoir, President Obama would describe Singh as “Wise, thoughtful, and a man of scrupulous honesty.”

Modi largely defeated Singh by using each of these traits against him. Kind and deliberative? More like boring and weak.

In a 2013 speech, a year before he would ultimately defeat Singh, Modi publicly likened his adversary to a “nightwatchmen,” a cricket term used to describe a passive player whose role is simply to watch over the game until a better player comes to fill the position. 

Modi proclaimed that Singh was holding the seat for the Gandhi family, which had ruled India for much of the nation’s relatively short history. Singh, Modi proclaimed, is “nothing but a puppet of the Gandhi family." 

If these attacks sound familiar, you may be thinking of Donald Trump’s own campaign rhetoric. 

“If Hillary Clinton were not married to Bill Clinton, she would not be standing on that stage right now,” Trump would declare. It was in line with previous references he’d made to the “Clinton Dynasty.”

During the Republican primary, he even blasted members of his own party like the Bush family and his opponent Jeb Bush who Trump alleged needed help from “Mommy and daddy.”

Citing nepotism against one’s opponents is perhaps too common to make one wonder if Trump was influenced by Modi’s line of attacks against Singh and the Gandhis. 

But the similarities between the two candidates’ posturing should at the very least underscore their respective reputations as outsiders in a political system dominated by family politics. 

Trump’s 2020 and 2024 lines of attack against “sleepy Joe Biden,” on the other hand, are almost a carbon copy of Modi’s rhetoric against a similarly decent and mild-mannered opponent in Singh.

Following 'Howdy Modi!' 100,000 people attended the 'Namaste Trump' rally in India

Howdy Modi!

Trump’s 2016 victory was met with comparison to Modi as well as a sweeping global shift towards right-wing ideology delivered by strongman leaders, including the Brexit vote and numerous other European election outcomes. 

When Trump first hosted Modi at the White House within the first six months of his first  term, the comparisons between the two only intensified.  One similarity, which Indian journalist Maya Michandani pointed out, was the ways in which both men,  who boasted tens of millions of Twitter followers, were prone to bashing the media.  “I think they will certainly see eye to eye on making a mockery out of the media,” said Mirchandani.  “They're bound to get along to some degree.”

The initial meeting, held in the White House Rose Garden, was marked by hugs and flattery between the two leaders.

And two years later, in Spring 2019, the Trump-Modi lovefest arguably hit its apex.  A crowd of 50,000 people gathered in Houston, Texas for “Howdy, Modi!” a rally thrown by Trump to welcome the Prime Minister.  While state dinners and Oval Office meetings are, of course, commonplace, a rally between two heads of state is generally without precedent. 

The event, which took place in Houston, home to one of the largest Indian American populations in the country, went far beyond the bounds of a simple business relationship between two leaders.

Modi took the stage to describe Trump as a “true friend” who is “"warm, friendly, accessible, energetic and full of wit."

"From CEO to commander-in-chief, from boardrooms to the Oval Office, from studios to the global stage… he has left a lasting impact everywhere," Modi declared of Trump, highlighting the President’s reputation as an outsider.  Modi even cited what he viewed as policy achievements by Trump, including the economy and security. 

And in perhaps the most memorable moment of the event, the Indian Prime Minister declared “Abki baar Trump sarkar.”  Loosely translated to “This time, we will have a Trump government," the phrase was a play on Modi’s own campaign slogan from years earlier. 

Trump then took the stage to describe Modi as one of “America’s greatest, most devoted, and most loyal friends.”

The following year, when Trump made his inaugural visit to India as President, Modi returned the favor with “Namaste, Trump,” a welcome event that reportedly featured over 100,000 attendees. 

Turning Point

But all good things must come to an end.

And nobody who has paid even the slightest attention to Trump over the past decade could claim to be surprised by a falling out between Trump and, well, literally anyone.

After all, it certainly feels the the majority of Trump’s professional relationships have ended in acrimony, including his own Vice President Mike Pence, who Trump’s own supporters tried to hang — with no protestation from Trump — on January 6th, 2021.

Or look more recently to Trump's relationship with Elon Musk.  Following Musk’s endorsement of Trump during the 2024 election, Musk was included in nearly all of Trump’s movements.  Words like “bromance” were used to describe the two, with Musk referring to himself as “the first buddy.”

That is, until just months into Trump’s presidency when a feud that seemingly escalated overnight involved Trump publicly implying that Musk should be deported to South Africa and Musk intimating that Trump is a pedophile. 

And while we are yet to see anything resembling a personal attack against Modi, the man who publicly praised Trump for making “the American economy strong again” is now at the receiving end of Trump’s economic policies. 

But before the tariffs came the first big road black in the relationship.

“The Border”

During the “Howdy, Modi!” Trump noted one key similarity between the two: “Both India and the United States also understand that to keep our communities safe, we must protect our borders.”

While Trump is of course known for his anti-immigration rhetoric, Modi — along with every previous Indian head of state — has to deal with tensions between Indian and Pakistan, particularly on the border of Kashmir, a disputed territory between the two nations.

In April, these tensions hit an all time high when a gunman opened fire on the India-controlled side of Kashmir, killing 28.  Shortly after, in May, Modi’s government retaliated with Operation Sindoor, a series of military strikes against Pakistani military facilities.

Then, as if the crisis wasn’t chaotic enough, President Trump got involved.

While India’s official policy has been to reject the help of third parties when it comes to negotiations with Pakistan, Trump took to social media to write “FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE” before India had publicly announced plans for a ceasefire, allegedly leaving India, Modi and his administration fuming. 

To make matters worse, Pakistan, likely in an effort to rub salt in India’s wound, publicly announced their plans to nominate Trump for the Nobel Prize for his role in helping the two nations come together, which, again, India claims he had no part in.

Whatever Trump’s intent —if in fact there was one — the move undermined Modi, making it look as though Trump has more sway over his country than the Prime Minister himself does.

And then came the tariffs.

Tariffs

Trump’s plans to implement tariffs on nearly every country caught most of the world off guard.  But few countries have been hit as hard as India.  In August, in addition to the 25% tariff that he had already announced on India, Trump added an additional 25% as a retaliatory measure against India’s purchase of Russian oil. 

According to the New York Times, India is just one of two countries, along with Brazil with such a high tariff rate. Brazil’s high tariff rate can likely be attributed to Brazilian President Lula’s open criticism of Trump.  Lula has decried the tariffs as “Blackmail.”

Modi, of course, has seemingly had the opposite relationship with Trump.  And Pakistan, on the other hand, has been hit with only a 19% tariff rate.  It’s also worth noting that other countries that purchase Russian oil were not subjected to the same added tariff. 

To put it mildly, the relationship between Trump and Modi has soured. 

When Modi recently made a visit to China, the first in seven years, Trump took notice of what was likely a clear attempt at finding allies elsewhere should the India-USA partnership continue to deteriorate. 

In perhaps the most direct escalation we’ve seen with Modi so far, Trump took to social media to decry India's trade relationship with the USA as “a totally one sided disaster.”

In the days since, both leaders have made at least some efforts towards the extension of an olive branch with Trump reaffirming the closeness of the two countries and Modi seconding the sentiment.

But the tariff situation remains unchanged, with neither of the two leaders seemingly willing to back down or discuss an alternate solution.

The Difference

During the 2016 primaries, an adviser to one of Trump’s opponents took heat for likening debate prep against Trump to preparing for a NASCAR race where one of the other drivers will be drunk.  While perhaps a crude comparison, few could disagree with the analogy’s accurate portrayal of Trump’s unpredictability.

And at the same time, despite all of the comparisons between the two men, few would accuse Modi of recklessness in the way that they would Trump, whose behavior involves announcing major policy decisions on social media, seemingly on a whim. 

Even Modi’s biggest critics would likely agree that he knows what he’s doing and, much to their detriment, is executing it successfully. 

But how does Modi, in fact, intend to race alongside a drunk driver?

This difference between the two also highlights a broader difference: while both ran as establishment outsiders, only one has truly remained an outsider in his continued unwillingness to follow conventions, even ones which some might describe as the basic human decency of not abandoning one’s allies.

And if in fact India does need the US more than the US needs them, it puts Modi in a nearly impossible position:  Play tough with a man whose unpredictability could very well worsen an already bad situation, or kowtow to Trump, thus risking permanent damage in the eyes of his Indian constituents.

It’s a question of whether Modi’s more deliberative approach, or Trump’s recklessness will prevail. 

So back to Bond: 

The villain Safin’s assertion that he and Bond are effectively different sides of the same coin is accompanied by a laundry list of commonalities between the two, including each’s belief in making the world a better place by any means necessary, violent or otherwise. 

But Safin includes a key difference between him and his counterpart: “I just want to be a little tidier.”

Does tidiness ultimately beat chaos? 

Let’s just say the film doesn’t end well for either character.