# Trump says India can count on him, Rubio hails ties 2026-08-15T19:56:07+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets US President Donald Trump, appearing virtually at the 250th US Independence Day celebrations hosted by the US Embassy in New Delhi on May 25, said India could count on him 100 per cent and described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a close friend. Trump also praised Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in India for the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Separately, on August 14, Rubio issued a statement greeting India on its 80th Independence Day, saying the bilateral relationship is stronger than ever thanks to the personal rapport between Trump and Modi. He highlighted cooperation in defence, energy, critical minerals, AI, space, and commerce, adding that US-India collaboration makes the Indian Ocean region safer. Several US states and lawmakers issued proclamations declaring August 15 as India Day, acknowledging the diaspora’s contributions. ## Coverage - economictimes.indiatimes.com - millenniumpost.in This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-16T07:51:52+00:00. Tags: Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Narendra Modi, US-India relations Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/rubio-credits-trump-modi-bond-for-stronger-us-india-ties/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/rubio-credits-trump-modi-bond-for-stronger-us-india-ties/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/