Indian people will be voting for me: Trump

Highlighting the relationship that he is rolling out with Indian Americans and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump said that he'd feel that Indian Americans would vote for him in the November 3 presidential election.

"We've great support from India. We've great support from Prime Minister Modi. I would feel that the Indian (American) people would be voting for Trump," the president told reporters at a White House news conference.

Trump was giving an answer to a question on a video titled, "Four more years" released by the Trump Campaign through the Republican National Convention last month.

Tweeted by Kimberly Guilfoyle, national chair of Trump Victory Finance Committee and retweeted by his son Donald Trump Jr, the video conceptualised by Al Mason, co-chair of the Trump Victory Indian American Finance Committee, has short clips from the Modi-Trump joint address in Houston last year and Ahmedabad in February this season.

"Would Kimberly, Don Jr., and Ivanka Trump, who are extremely popular among Indian Americans, will be campaigning in your stead among the Indian Americans with your views on India-US relationship?" he was asked.

"I know India and I understood those young persons (Kimberley, Donald J Trump Jr and Ivanka) that you mentioned. They're very good teenagers. And I understand their relationship with India is very good therefore is mine," Trump said.

The president said that he includes a very good relationship with Modi.

"Prime Minister Modi is a pal of mine and he's performing a very good job. Nothing easy, but he's done an excellent job," he said as he recollected his historic address at the 'Howdy Mody' event in Houston last September."

"We had an event in Houston, you may already know. And it was a fantastic event. I was invited by Prime Minister Modi which was an enormous (event)... And it was incredible. And the prime minister could not have already been more generous. We've great support from India. We've great support from Prime Minister Modi," Trump said.

The president then described his India visit early this season in February before the coronavirus pandemic hit both countries.

"I also, you may already know, visited India just prior to the pandemic setting in because India has been hit very hard, left really in regards to a week before that, and we'd an unbelievable time. What we saw the persons are so incredible it's really an incredible place, an incredible country and it's really definitely big," he said.

"But there is a great leader and he's a great person," Trump said.

In recent weeks both the Democrats and Republicans have intensified their outreach to the Indian American community, in particular in the battle ground states.

A recently available research by Mason in battle ground states showed that Indian Americans who traditionally vote for the Democrats are switching to the Republican party in significant numbers for the reason that friendship that Trump has with Modi and the latter's high popularity among a sizable section of the city who number 4 million in the US, which 2.5 million are eligible to vote.

In the battleground states, they number 1 1.3 million as per a recent remark made by Indian Americans in the Democratic party.

Mason's survey was conducted before former vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic party's presidential candidate, selected Indian-origin Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate, a move Democratic party leader believe would stem the flow of Indian Americans towards the Republicans.

Both Trump and his campaign, in recent remarks, assert that more Indian Americans support them compared to the Democrats.

In various writings and remarks the Democratic leaders in recent weeks have apprehended that Trump's friendship with Modi might sway their traditional vote bank the election.

The Trump campaign believes that Indian Americans can play an essential role in the election, especially in the battleground states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio, where in fact the two rival campaigns will be battling for each and every vote.

Democratic campaign too is developing ideas and commercials to woo Indian Americans.

The Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez has addressed the city virtually, wherein he has acknowledged the main element role that Indian Americans can play in battleground states.

On August 15, both Biden and Harris made a video address to an Indian American event. The campaign has released an insurance plan paper for Indian Americans.