Trump says Modi praised him over Covid-19 testing

Washington, Sep 14: US President Donald Trump has claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised him for coronavirus testing in America, which is currently the worst-hit country in the world. Trump made the remarks at a campaign rally on Saturday night in Nevada. The President said: "We've tested more people than India than many many big countries put together. India's second. We are 44 million tests ahead of India. They have 1.5 billion people… And Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi calls me. He says what a job you've done with testing. I said explain that to these dishonest people back." Trump then goes on to slam his Democratic rival Joe Biden, saying that if he was in charge when the "China virus" arrived, "hundred of thousands of more Americans would have died". As of Monday, the US accounts for the world's highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths at 6,520,234 and 194,081 respectively, according to the Johns Hopkins University. India is currently in the second place in terms of cases at 4,846,427, while the country's death toll stood at 79,722. At the rally, Trump warned that he was prepared to "be really vicious" in the final weeks of the presidential campaign. Nevada is among the locations his campaign is targeting as they work to rebuild enthusiasm around his handling of the US economy and solidify his support with Hispanic voters, said a Politico news report. Along with Arizona, where the President is traveling on Monday, Nevada is also a state where campaign aides believe Trump's expanded Latino support could make a difference in the November 3 election. (IANS)