A trade deal between the United States and India is a "real possibility" that will not only benefit the two countries but the world, Andy Puzder, the former CKE Restaurants CEO who at one time was the president's nominee for labor secretary, said Monday.
"There are more people in India than there are in China," Puzder told Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "There is such a potential trade partner. This could be so good for the world, for the GDP across the globe, let alone the United States and India."
Earlier on Monday, Trump was cheered by more than 100,000 people at the opening of the world's largest cricket stadium, after which he and first lady Melania Trump toured the Taj Mahal with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Puzder admitted that he didn't think Trump's trip to India was "that big of a deal" when he heard about it, but realized Trump got an "incredible reaction" from India, as the largest democracy in the world.
"What a market," Puzder said, emphasizing India's population of 1.4 billion. "These are people who speak English. They are people who understand what America is, what America means."
The potential deal also "certainly strengthens" the United States' position in its ongoing negotiations with China, said Puzder.
Meanwhile, he said he does not expect Trump to address Modi publicly concerning criticism over its crackdown in Kashmir, India's only Muslim majority state.
"If he wants to speak with something where we have a disagreement on Indian policy he should do it in a one-on-one meeting with the prime minister, not out in front of the public trying to embarrass people," said Puzder. "People who think that have never negotiated a deal or don't understand how to negotiate."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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