Trump phone call boast about Nobel Prize nomination set off feud with major ally: report

An offhand comment Donald Trump made about receiving a Nobel Prize nomination while speaking with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India is the reason the two have gone from allies to enemies, reports the New York Times.

On Saturday, the Times’ Mujib Mashal, Tyler Pager and Anupreeta Das reported that an already aggravated Modi, who represents a major trading partner with the U.S. , took exception to Trump pointing out that the leadership of Pakistan had nominated him for the prize, which has become an obsession of the president in his second term.

That reportedly caused India’s leader to snap

.“During a phone call on June 17, Mr. Trump brought it up again, saying how proud he was of ending the military escalation,” the report states, while adding that Trump then brought up and praised Pakistan, a longtime foe of India.

The report adds, “The not-so-subtle implication, according to people familiar with the call, was that Mr. Modi should do the same. The Indian leader bristled. He told Mr. Trump that U.S. involvement had nothing to do with the recent cease-fire. It had been settled directly between India and Pakistan.”

According to the Times, Trump reportedly blew off Modi’s objections, with the disagreement spiraling into an “outsize role in the souring relationship between the two leaders, whose once-close ties go back to Mr. Trump’s first term.”

The report adds that the growing feud, with the two leaders having not spoken to each other since, has pushed India towards allying with China and Russia, with Modi expected to meet with the leaders of those two countries after Trump cancelled a previously scheduled visit.

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