By — Associated Press Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-trump-marks-hindu-holiday-of-diwali-with-white-house-celebration Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: Trump confirms Budapest talks with Putin are off for now at Diwali celebration Politics Updated on Oct 21, 2025 5:47 PM EST — Published on Oct 21, 2025 1:06 PM EST At an event celebrating the Hindu holiday Diwali, President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about trade and “a lot of things.” Watch the Oval Office celebration in the video player above. Trump has put a 25% tariff on goods from India because of its buying of Russian oil, putting the combined tax rate that the U.S. president has placed on imports from the country this year at 50%. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. The U.S. president described the situation with India on trade as “interesting.” Trump says he doesn’t want ‘wasted meeting’ as he confirms Budapest talks with Putin are off for now “I don’t want to have a wasted meeting,” Trump said of holding off on plans to meet with the Russian leader in Hungary in the coming weeks. “I don’t want to have a waste of time — so we’ll see what happens.” READ MORE: Trump-Putin meeting planned for Budapest on hold, U.S. official says The decision to hold off on the meeting, which Trump had announced last week, was made following a call earlier on Tuesday between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Trump says he’d be the one to decide if federal officials should pay him back for past probes Asked about a New York Times report that he’s demanding that the Justice Department pay him about $230 million in compensation for federal investigations brought against him before his second term, Trump responded “could be.” He said he didn’t know the numbers involved, and suggested he’d not spoken to officials about it. But he added: “All I know is that, they would owe me a lot of money.” Trump said he could collect repayment for things like investigations into his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, and then donate it to charity. Or, he said, he could use it to help pay for a ballroom he’s building at the White House. Trump said that, when it comes to federal matters, “It’s interesting, cause I’m the one that makes the decision, right?” “That decision would have to go across my desk,” the president said. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now By — Associated Press Associated Press
At an event celebrating the Hindu holiday Diwali, President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about trade and “a lot of things.” Watch the Oval Office celebration in the video player above. Trump has put a 25% tariff on goods from India because of its buying of Russian oil, putting the combined tax rate that the U.S. president has placed on imports from the country this year at 50%. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. The U.S. president described the situation with India on trade as “interesting.” Trump says he doesn’t want ‘wasted meeting’ as he confirms Budapest talks with Putin are off for now “I don’t want to have a wasted meeting,” Trump said of holding off on plans to meet with the Russian leader in Hungary in the coming weeks. “I don’t want to have a waste of time — so we’ll see what happens.” READ MORE: Trump-Putin meeting planned for Budapest on hold, U.S. official says The decision to hold off on the meeting, which Trump had announced last week, was made following a call earlier on Tuesday between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Trump says he’d be the one to decide if federal officials should pay him back for past probes Asked about a New York Times report that he’s demanding that the Justice Department pay him about $230 million in compensation for federal investigations brought against him before his second term, Trump responded “could be.” He said he didn’t know the numbers involved, and suggested he’d not spoken to officials about it. But he added: “All I know is that, they would owe me a lot of money.” Trump said he could collect repayment for things like investigations into his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, and then donate it to charity. Or, he said, he could use it to help pay for a ballroom he’s building at the White House. Trump said that, when it comes to federal matters, “It’s interesting, cause I’m the one that makes the decision, right?” “That decision would have to go across my desk,” the president said. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now