Images Credit: Twitter

The Trump-Modi Rally Yesterday Should Make the Left Nervous

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In: FOREIGN POLICY

“Will be in Houston to be with my friend. Will be a great day in Texas!”, tweeted President Donald Trump Sunday morning.

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In response, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tweeted: “It surely will be a great day! Looking forward to meeting you very soon @realDonaldTrump”.

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From the size of the crowd, any reasonable person would say it was!

Attendees of the ‘Howdy Modi’ event had to register for the free tickets. They numbered 50,000 when registration closed to the general public but it was left open to students which reached 72,000. At that point, a waitlist was generated with 5,000 on it.

In a tweet from Twitter user @bennyjohnson, He posts a picture of the crowd with the caption, “this shot of the crowd from today from the Trump/Modi rally is really something.”

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The rally included a cultural event featuring hundreds of dancers before the two leaders spoke to the crowd.

Image from Heavy.com is linked to the original source

Ted Cruz was also in attendance at the rally and welcomed PM Modi with the statement “India is the largest democracy on Earth and America is proud to be your friend.”  The relationship with India is very important to both Texas and India as the country is Houston’s 10th largest trading partner. 

Image links to the original source from Calgary Herald

Prime Minister Modi’s endorsement of Trump should help Trump with Indian American voters. According to an article from USA Today:

Modi, whose 71% approval rating far surpasses Trump’s 44%, has cultivated a massive following among the Indian diaspora. Indian Americans are one of the most politically engaged immigrant groups in the U.S., with 62% casting their vote in 2016, just above the overall U.S. turnout rate of 61.4% and surpassing the rates for both Hispanics and African-Americans. 

But whether Modi’s global appeal can extend to his American counterpart is less clear. About 66% of Indians disapproved of the president’s job performance while only 28% agreed he was doing well, according to Asian American and Pacific Islander Data (AAPI Data), a survey of Asian-American attitudes from the University of California.

Modi and Trump are set to talk in New York about a trade deal, which was brought up at the rally by Modi in part of his speech that was delivered in Hindi.

President Trump even has used Modi’s Moto ‘Abki Baar Modi Sarkar’ but with ‘Abki Baar Trump Sarkar’ which translates to  “This time it’s the turn of the Trump administration”. 

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Narendra Modo’s twitter feed is littered with videos and images from the rally. One of the notable tweets can be seen with four amazing images showing the crowd, Trump, and Modi in different shots, one with Indian flag adorning the background.

Modi tweeted:

“Dear @POTUS@realDonaldTrump, your presence at #HowdyModi in Houston was a watershed moment in India-USA ties.

Since assuming office, you have been a steadfast friend of India and the Indian community.

Your presence indicates your respect towards India and the Indian diaspora.”

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Trump was also in Houston because of the flooding from Tropical Storm Imelda that tragically took the lives of five people. He made a visit to a US Coast Guard Station in southeastern Texas and also spoke with FEMA about federal funding for the recovery operation.

Trump then flew to Ohio to meet with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to mark the opening of the Australian-owned Pratt Industries plant in Wapakoneta.

It was quite an international Sunday for the President, the day before he addressed the United Nations on Religious freedom.

Image links to the original source from the Chicago Tribune
Ian MacDonald
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