‘I said we’ll put 250% tariff on both nations’: Trump repeats India-Pak ceasefire claim, calls PM Modi ‘nicest looking guy’
“Prime Minister Modi is the nicest looking guy. He is a killer. He is tough as hell," said US President Donald Trump.
- Oct 29, 2025,
- Updated Oct 29, 2025 12:04 PM IST
US President Donald Trump said it was the warning that Washington would impose a 250 per cent tariff on both India and Pakistan that stopped the conflict and get them to negotiate a ceasefire. He said 250 per cent tariff meant both New Delhi and Islamabad would never do business. Trump reiterated his role in negotiating the ceasefire, and called Prime Minister Narendra Modi his friend. He also said PM Modi was the “nicest looking guy”.
Addressing Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) business leaders at a luncheon in South Korea, Trump said, “If you look at India and Pakistan…so I am doing a trade deal with India and I have a great deal of love and respect for Prime Minister Modi, we have a great relationship. Likewise, the Prime Minister of Pakistan (Shehbaz Sharif) is a great guy and the Field Marshal (Asim Munir)...they have a Field Marshal, he is a great fighter and a great guy too…I know them all.”
Recalling his role in negotiating the ceasefire, Trump said, “I am reading that seven planes were shot down…they were going at it, it’s a big thing, they are two nuclear nations. I called Prime Minister Modi and said ‘I cannot do a trade deal with you’. ‘No, no we must make a trade deal’. I said, ‘No, we can’t. You are starting a war with Pakistan, we are not going to do it’. Then I called Pakistan and said ‘We are not going to do trade with you because you are fighting with India’. Two nuclear nations. ‘No, no, no, you should let us fight,’ they both said.”
“They are strong people,” said Trump, adding, “Prime Minister Modi is the nicest looking guy. He is a killer. He is tough as hell. 'No, we will fight,' PM Modi said, and I said 'Whoa is he the same man that I know?' But after a little while, they called up and said we would end fighting." Trump asked if former US President Joe Biden would have done the same thing. He then responded to his own question and said most people would not have thought of it.
“We were doing deals, so it made extra sense. You have to stop the war. I said we will put 250 per cent tariffs on each country, which means that you will never do business. There’s nothing you can sell for 250 per cent. That’s a nice way of saying ‘we don’t want to do business with you’. You don’t say ‘we don’t want to do business’, you say ‘we will put a 250 per cent tariff if you don’t stop the war’. They understood that and within 48 hours we had no war, no people killed and it makes me feel so good. It saved millions and millions of lives,” said Trump.
The US President has repeated his version of events multiple times since May, when he first announced the ceasefire, which he claimed was mediated by Washington. India, on the other hand, has denied any third party involvement in the ceasefire negotiations. Officials have reiterated that the ceasefire came after Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) requested the Indian counterpart to deescalate.
US President Donald Trump said it was the warning that Washington would impose a 250 per cent tariff on both India and Pakistan that stopped the conflict and get them to negotiate a ceasefire. He said 250 per cent tariff meant both New Delhi and Islamabad would never do business. Trump reiterated his role in negotiating the ceasefire, and called Prime Minister Narendra Modi his friend. He also said PM Modi was the “nicest looking guy”.
Addressing Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) business leaders at a luncheon in South Korea, Trump said, “If you look at India and Pakistan…so I am doing a trade deal with India and I have a great deal of love and respect for Prime Minister Modi, we have a great relationship. Likewise, the Prime Minister of Pakistan (Shehbaz Sharif) is a great guy and the Field Marshal (Asim Munir)...they have a Field Marshal, he is a great fighter and a great guy too…I know them all.”
Recalling his role in negotiating the ceasefire, Trump said, “I am reading that seven planes were shot down…they were going at it, it’s a big thing, they are two nuclear nations. I called Prime Minister Modi and said ‘I cannot do a trade deal with you’. ‘No, no we must make a trade deal’. I said, ‘No, we can’t. You are starting a war with Pakistan, we are not going to do it’. Then I called Pakistan and said ‘We are not going to do trade with you because you are fighting with India’. Two nuclear nations. ‘No, no, no, you should let us fight,’ they both said.”
“They are strong people,” said Trump, adding, “Prime Minister Modi is the nicest looking guy. He is a killer. He is tough as hell. 'No, we will fight,' PM Modi said, and I said 'Whoa is he the same man that I know?' But after a little while, they called up and said we would end fighting." Trump asked if former US President Joe Biden would have done the same thing. He then responded to his own question and said most people would not have thought of it.
“We were doing deals, so it made extra sense. You have to stop the war. I said we will put 250 per cent tariffs on each country, which means that you will never do business. There’s nothing you can sell for 250 per cent. That’s a nice way of saying ‘we don’t want to do business with you’. You don’t say ‘we don’t want to do business’, you say ‘we will put a 250 per cent tariff if you don’t stop the war’. They understood that and within 48 hours we had no war, no people killed and it makes me feel so good. It saved millions and millions of lives,” said Trump.
The US President has repeated his version of events multiple times since May, when he first announced the ceasefire, which he claimed was mediated by Washington. India, on the other hand, has denied any third party involvement in the ceasefire negotiations. Officials have reiterated that the ceasefire came after Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) requested the Indian counterpart to deescalate.