JD Vance Tells India: Trump 'Wants America To Grow, He Wants India To Grow'

Forbes Breaking News

In remarks at the Rajasthan Centre in Jaipur, India, on Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance spoke about President Trump's approach to U.S.-India relations.

Transcript

00:00India and the United States.

00:01Prime Minister Modi, as most of you probably know,

00:04was one of the first visitors welcomed into the Oval Office

00:06during President Trump's second term.

00:09And like President Trump, the Prime Minister inspires remarkable loyalty

00:13because of the strength of his belief in his people and in his country.

00:19Now, we're so grateful for Prime Minister Modi's hospitality,

00:22as well as the reception that he and everyone else in this country

00:25have given us on this first trip for me to India.

00:28This is my first time visiting the birthplace of my wife's parents,

00:34and she's, of course, in the front row there.

00:36There you are, Usha.

00:42She's a bit of a celebrity, it turns out, in India, I think more so than her husband.

00:46But I haven't been here long, but already I've been fortunate enough

00:50to visit the Akshwadam Temple.

00:52Did I pronounce that right, honey?

00:54I did okay? All right.

00:55With my family this morning, as a matter of fact.

00:57And last night, Prime Minister Modi welcomed me, Usha, and our three small children

01:03at his beautiful home.

01:04I've been amazed by the ancient beauty of the architecture of India,

01:09by the richness of India's history and traditions,

01:12but also by India's laser-like focus on the future.

01:16And those things, I think, this appreciation for history and tradition

01:20and this focus on the future is very much something that I think animates this country in 2025.

01:26Now, in other countries I've visited, it sometimes feels like there's a flatness,

01:30a saneness, a desire to just be like everyone else in the world.

01:36But it's different here.

01:37There's a vitality to India, a sense of infinite possibility, of new homes to be built,

01:43new skylines to be raised, and lives to be enriched.

01:47And there's a pride in being Indian, a feeling of excitement about the days that lie ahead.

01:53Now, it's a striking contrast with too many in the West,

01:56where some in our leadership class seem stricken by self-doubt and even fear of the future.

02:01To them, humanity is always one bad decision away from catastrophe.

02:07The world will soon end, they tell us, because we're burning too much fuel

02:10or making too many things or having too many children.

02:14And so, rather than invest in the future, they too often retreat from it.

02:19Some of them pass laws that force their nations to use less power.

02:23They cancel nuclear and other energy generation facilities.

02:26Even as their choices, the choices of these leaders, lead to more dependence on foreign adversaries.

02:33Meanwhile, their message to their friends, to countries like India,

02:36is to tell them that they're not allowed to grow.

02:39Well, President Trump rejects these failed ideas.

02:44He wants America to grow.

02:46He wants India to grow.

02:48And he wants to build the future with our partners all over the globe.

02:51And when I look at this audience, or when I visit this incredible country over these last couple of days,

03:02I see a people that will not be held back.

03:06Now, the most profound responsibility, I believe, that all of us have

03:09is not to ourselves, but to the next generation,

03:12to make sure we leave them with a better society than the one that our parents and our grandparents gave us.

03:17And this is the world that America seeks to create with you.

03:21We want to build a bright new world, one that's constantly innovating,

03:26one that's helping people to form families,

03:28making it easier to build, invest, and trade together in pursuit of common goals.

03:34Now, I believe that our nations have much to offer one another.

03:38And that's why we come to you as partners looking to strengthen our relationships.

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