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


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."
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.
India and the U.S. are hoping to restart stalled trade talks amid tit-for-tat tariffs. India is also home to the most Trump-branded properties outside the U.S.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Sudoku hard: October 5, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland