Indian Hindu nationalists threw a 70th birthday party for Donald Trump, and it was bizarre


The conventional wisdom in this very unconventional presidential election is that the world is terrified of a President Trump. But some of Donald Trump's biggest fans are actually a group of right-wing Hindu nationalists in India, and on Tuesday, members of Hindu Sena celebrated Trump's 70th birthday in the heart of New Delhi with a 15-pound cake, balloons, music, a life-size poster of Trump holding a hunting rifle, and a dash of anti-Islamic fervor. After singing "Happy Birthday," Hindu Sena founder Vishnu Gupta held a piece of cake up to Trump's mouth, as if the two were getting married.
Hindu Sena first gained attention by holding a havan, or public prayer, to the Hindu gods Shiva and Hanuman for Trump's electoral success — "The whole world is screaming because of Islamic terrorism," Gupta said. "If anybody can save humanity, it is Donald Trump" — and as exotic as this birthday celebration may seem, it is at least more familiar to Trump and his American supporters than Hindu chants and incense. Trump's momentous birthday was sort of drowned out in the U.S. by the Orlando nightclub mass shooting, and Trump's response to it, so it's nice that his fans were thoughtful enough to throw him a party in India. You can watch scenes from the unusual party in the Wall Street Journal report below. Peter Weber
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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