Going from criticism to praise in a flash, the US quickly changed its stance on India's democracy ahead of PM Modi's first state visit.
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00:00They're having questions about the health of India's democracy under Narendra Modi.
00:05India is a vibrant democracy. Anybody that,
00:08you know, happens to go to New Delhi can see that for themselves.
00:30I also wanted to ask you about another visit from a foreign leader coming up later this month,
00:57India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
00:59I know you all have made a very large focus in this administration on the divide between
01:04autocracies and democracies, and there have been questions about the health of India's democracy
01:09under Narendra Modi. I wanted you to articulate why have the invitation for the state dinner
01:15and then have a follow-up. India is a strong partner on very, very many levels with the
01:21United States. You saw that in Shangri-La, Secretary Austin announced some additional
01:27defense cooperation now that we're going to pursue with India. Of course, there's an awful
01:33lot of economic trade between our two countries. India is a member of the Pacific Quad and a key
01:41friend and partner with respect to Indo-Pacific security. I could go on and on and on. There's
01:46innumerable reasons why India certainly matters, not just bilaterally between the two of our
01:52nations, but multilaterally on very many levels. The President's looking forward very much to
01:58having Prime Minister Modi here to talk about all those issues and to advance and deepen that
02:03partnership and that friendship. Is this administration at all concerned
02:06about the health of democracy in India? India is a vibrant democracy. Anybody that
02:15happens to go to New Delhi can see that for themselves. Certainly, I would expect that the
02:22strength and health of democratic institutions would be part of the discussion. Look,
02:27we never shy away, and you can do that with friends. You're supposed to do that with
02:31friends. You never shy away from expressing concerns that we might have with anyone
02:36around the world. This visit is really about advancing what is now and what we hope will be
02:42a deeper, stronger partnership and friendship going forward.