AHMEDABAD: US President Donald Trump arrived in India on Monday for a lightning visit featuring a huge rally at the world’s biggest cricket stadium and other high-profile photo opportunities, but likely short on concrete achievements.
#WATCH live from Gujarat: US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive in Ahmedabad. https://t.co/xZJn4qg80b
— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2020
Trade tensions have grown between the world’s two biggest democracies as Trump’s “America First” drive collides with fellow protectionist strongman Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” mantra.
While sharing concerns about China and deepening defense ties, India has bristled at Trump’s offer to mediate over the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan and at unease in Washington over a citizenship law criticised as anti-Muslim.
The billionaire and the tea seller’s son were due to address a huge rally of around 100,000 people at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Modi’s home state before Trump and First Lady Melania fly to the Taj Mahal to watch the sunset.
Excited crowds began queueing at 4:00 am to get into the brand new stadium for the “Namaste Trump” rally, payback for a “Howdy Modi” event in Houston last year in front of cheering Indian-Americans where Trump likened Modi to Elvis Presley.
“We hope the US liberalises its visa regime for skilled workers. They need it and India has too many young skilled and talented people,” said student Maunas Shastri.
Preparations have been feverish for the visit, with workers rushing to finish the stadium and building a wall that locals said was to hide a slum.
Stray dogs, cows and monkeys have been moved away.
Parts of the Taj Mahal, the white marble “jewel of Muslim art” according to UNESCO, were given a mud-pack facial to remove stains while efforts were undertaken to lessen the stench of the adjacent river.
Trump told a rally on Thursday that “six to 10 million people” would be along the route of his motorcade, but this appears to have been a misunderstanding. Organisers said there will be tens of thousands.
Thousands of posters with the words were erected every 10 meters (yards) along Ahmedabad’s major roads. Sellers of flags and masks of Modi and Trump were doing brisk business.
Trump tweeted en route to India — in Hindi — that he was “eager to come to India” while Modi responded by saying that “guests are next to God”, a well-known saying.
Betting on 4 more years
Trump is briefly leaving a country gripped by mounting election fever.
Despite stubbornly low popularity figures and the stain of his recent impeachment, Trump is betting that a strong economy and a Democratic opposition beset by infighting will hand him another four years in the White House.
For months, experts have predicted that a moderate Democrat able to poach wavering Republicans and independents could seriously challenge Trump. Instead, the primary races appear to be pointing to the polarizing Sanders becoming the nominee.
The self-declared democratic socialist, who calls for radical reorganization of the US economy, won a landslide in the latest race in Nevada on Saturday, leaving competitors scrambling to prevent his momentum from becoming unstoppable.
Trump has made no secret of relishing the idea of running against a lifelong leftist — someone that the Republicans will paint as extreme.
As he left for India, Trump called the Nevada contest “a great win for Bernie Sanders.”
Trump then played on Democratic in-fighting, suggesting that the moderate establishment could try to rig things to stop a Sanders juggernaut.
“The Democrats are treating Bernie Sanders very unfairly,” Trump said, predicting Sanders would become his opponent “unless they cheat him out of it.”
