'Fear: Trump In The White House' by Bob Woodward, a respected American journalist, describes how Modi wanted to "bond with Trump" at Camp David, the US president's country retreat. (File photo: Reuters)

The White House says Camp David, the US president's country retreat, offers the commander-in-chief "solitude, tranquility, and a place to host foreign leaders". A new book says Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to have dinner with Donald Trump there last June.

'Fear: Trump In The White House' by Bob Woodward, a respected American journalist (see below), describes how Modi wanted to "bond with Trump" at Camp David.

But of course, the retreat visit never happened. The two men did get along famously, though. The Associated Press, a newswire, wrote an entire story on the three hugs Modi gave Trump. The first line of that piece: "So much for handshakes."

Woodward's book, in fact, says Trump once called Modi a friend of his, and said he liked the prime minister very much. This, during a conversation on Afghanistan, during which Trump also said, according to Woodward, that Modi told him the US had "gotten nothing out of Afghanistan".

Bob Woodward (R) and the late Ben Bradlee, a former Washington Post executive editor, posing for a photo during a tour of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in April 2011. Bradlee was at the Washington Post during the Watergate saga. Woodward reported on the scandal. (Photo: Reuters)

So, why didn't Modi and Trump go to Camp David?

The book says that Reince Priebus, Trump's then-chief of staff, told HH McMaster, then the National Security Advisor, that the trip wasn't "on the cards".

McMaster was not pleased -- and that's putting it mildly: "What the f***? It's India , man. It's f*****g India."

Woodward explains: McMaster, he says, "understood the strategic importance of India, a sworn enemy of Pakistan. Outreach and strong relations were essential."

Just a few lines above, Woodward describes how India "was the counterweight to Pakistan, which was giving the new [US] administration as much trouble as it had given previous ones by hedging maddenly on terrorism".

'I'M NOT LYING'

These excerpts, of course, are not the main story in the book, the brainchild of a respected reporter who reported on the Watergate scandal. "Fear" is an account of a presidency -- a controversial one. The New York Times' reviewer wrote: "We knew things were bad. Woodward is here, like a state trooper knocking on the door at 3 a.m., to update the sorry details."

Even before the book came out, Trump called it a "scam", and Woodward a "liar".

The Woodward book is a scam. I dont talk the way I am quoted. If I did I would not have been elected President. These quotes were made up. The author uses every trick in the book to demean and belittle. I wish the people could see the real facts - and our country is doing GREAT! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 7, 2018

This week, Stephen Colbert, a late night talk show host, asked Woodward how he feels when Trump says he's lying.

And Woodward, the winner of two Pulitzer prizes, said, "I'm not."

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