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
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
China looms large over India and Pakistan's latest violenceIN THE SPOTLIGHT Beijing may not have had troops on the ground, but as South Asia's two nuclear powers bared their teeth over Kashmir, China eyed opportunity in its own backyard
-
Where the new Pope Leo XIV stands on various issuesThe Explainer The first American pontiff is expected to continue some of his predecessor's work
-
What's wrong with America's air traffic control systems?Today's Big Question The radios and radar keep going out at Newark International
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top GrammysSpeed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
