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23-10-2020
By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report
NASHVILLE/ NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD: The final debate between US presidential nominees Donald Trump and Joe Biden did not bring good news for India as the US president described the air in India as “filthy”.
The reference to India was made by Donald Trump during the second and final presidential debate when he was responding to accusations regarding climate change.
“Look at China, how filthy it is. Look at Russia, look at India — it’s filthy. The air is filthy,” Trump said at the debate in Nashville.
Trump charged that Biden’s climate plan was an “economic disaster” for oil states such as Texas and Oklahoma.
Biden said that climate change is “an existential threat to humanity. We have a moral obligation to deal with it.”
“We’re going to pass the point of no return within the next eight to 10 years,” he said.
Michael Kugelman, a US expert on South Asian Affairs, described the remark as “negative” and wondered what will be the response of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “multiple unflattering references to India” in these debates.
“After Trump’s multiple unflattering references to India in these debates, will Narendra Modi reconsider the endorsement he appeared to offer to candidate Trump at the “Howdy Modi” shindig some time back?”
Trump has been accused by his critics over his handling of climate change issues at the international level.
The planet has already warmed by around one degree Celsius (34 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels, enough to boost the intensity of deadly heat waves, droughts and tropical storms.
Trump has pulled the United States out of the Paris climate accord, which aims to cap global warming “well below” two degrees Celsius.
Trump’s remarks come days before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper visit New Delhi for talks on building the growing US-India partnership.
At the first presidential debate, Trump also spoke critically of India, questioning its coronavirus data amid criticism of Trump’s handling of the pandemic.
