Trump arrives in India for 36 hours of pageantry, trade talks

Trump is greeted in India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

published 24 February 2020

President Trump arrived in India on Monday, starting 36 hours of tightly choreographed pomp and quieter trade talks. Trump and first lady Melania Trump landed in Ahmedabad, in western India, and after being greeted warmly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two leaders traveled to the world's largest cricket stadium for a huge rally.

The cricket stadium held 100,000 people, making it the largest rally of Trump's political career. "The boisterous scene featured soldiers on camels, a mix of songs from Bollywood hits and Trump's campaign rally playlist, including an Elton John hit that seemed to puzzle most of the crowd," The Associated Press reports. Trump spoke for nearly half an hour, and "toward the end of the speeches, there were many empty seats, especially in the upper part of the stadium, in the sections facing the sun," noted AFP's Jerome Cartillier, the White House pool reporter.

Trump also visited Mohandas Gandhi's humble home and planned to visit the Taj Mahal before flying to Delhi for the business part of his trip, as well as some vegetarian meals. Modi provided Trump a lot of imagery the Trump team expects to use in his re-election campaign, AP reports. "Trump's motorcade traveled amid cheers from a battery of carefully picked and vetted Modi loyalists and workers from his Bharatiya Janata Party who will stand for hours alongside the neatly manicured 22-kilometer (14-mile) stretch of road to accord the president a grand welcome on his way to the newly constructed stadium. Tens of thousands of police officers were on hand to keep security tight and a new wall has come up in front of a slum, apparently to hide it from presidential passers-by."

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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.