“56-inch chest is quiet,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a subtle jab at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after US President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his assertions about his role in halting Operation Sindoor in May.
Ramesh, sharing a clip from Trump’s public address, said it was the 56th time the US President has boasted about his role in bringing the military escalation between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack to a sudden stop.
Donald Trump is currently in South Korea, the last leg of his Asia tour for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit. He reiterated his role in ending the India-Pakistan war for the “56th time” in South Korea and Japan.
He has previously made the same claims in the US, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UK.
Here’s what Jairam Ramesh said:
In a post on X, Ramesh said, “This is President Trump addressing the APEC CEO Summit in South Korea just a few minutes ago. Much more detailed than before.”
“56th time that President Trump has spoken about the abrupt halt to Operation Sindoor. But the self-styled but now thoroughly shrunken and deeply exposed 56-inch chest is still quiet,” he added.
In a previous tweet, the Congress leader shared Trump’s address to business leaders in Japan last evening and said, “No wonder his good friend in New Delhi does not want to hug him any more.”
What did Donald Trump say?
At the APEC CEOs Luncheon in Gyeongju, South Korea, Donald Trump reiterated his disputed claim that his intervention helped de-escalate tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations — India and Pakistan — and claimed that seven planes were shot down during the conflict.
Trump said that he personally contacted both PM Modi and Pakistan’s leadership to halt the hostilities, linking the resolution to trade negotiations.
“I’m doing a trade deal with India, and I have great respect and love for Prime Minister Modi. We have a great relationship,” he said. “….I’m reading that seven planes were shot down. These are two nuclear nations. And they’re really going at it,” he added.
Trump said that he called Prime Minister Modi and said, “We can’t make a trade deal with you. You’re starting a war with Pakistan. We’re not going to do it.” He also said that he then called Pakistan and said, “We’re not going to do trade with you because you’re fighting with India.”
“’No, no, you should let us fight.’ They both said that. They’re strong people,” Trump said.
He then lavished praise on PM Narendra Modi as the “nicest-looking guy”: “He looks like you’d like to have your father, but he’s a killer. He’s tough as hell. ‘No, we will fight,’ [PM Modi said]. I said, ‘Whoa, this is the same man that I know,’” Trump added.
“After literally two days, they called up and they said, ‘We understand,’ and they stopped fighting. How is that? Isn’t that amazing? Now, do you think Biden would have done that? I don’t think so,” he concluded.
