Modi, Trump show great chemistry at mega Texas event

HOUSTON, TEXAS: To the cheers of a crowd of nearly 50,0000 Indian Americans, leaders of the world’s largest democracies — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump — circled the floor of NRG Stadium on Sunday holding hands, a show of the message that each had come to Houston to convey: that India and the U.S. have never been closer allies.

For Modi, that relationship brings the promise of increased trade with America, including crucial imports of natural gas, and the possible exports of the sorts of goods that, before the recent tariff wars, China used to send here. And just as crucially, it implies U.S. backup as India’s recent clampdown in Kashmir heightens tensions with neighboring Pakistan.

Trump, too, touted India’s increasing trade with the U.S. And in the popular prime minister, he saw a possible connection to Indian Americans — an increasingly powerful voting bloc who are overwhelmingly registered as Democrats, and who, in 2016, voted for Hillary Clinton.

“I’m close to the folks from India, the folks that love India, because I love India,” Trump said.

Before a roaring crowd of tens of thousands of Indian Americans, Modi delivered an unmistakable endorsement of Trump’s presidency and cast their joint appearance in historic terms.

“His name is familiar to every person on the planet,” Modi said as he introduced Trump. “He was a household name and very popular even before he went on to occupy the highest office in this great country. From CEO to commander in chief. From boardrooms to the Oval Office. From studios to global stage.”

The prime minister then repurposed his own campaign slogan in India to rally support for “my friend” Trump in the United States: “Abki baar, Trump sarkar,” meaning, “This time, a Trump government.”

Called “Howdy, Modi!,” the event was staged to honor the prime minister and was billed as the largest gathering for an invited foreign leader other than the pope. Attendees, many of them from Texas’s large Indian community, packed into NRG Stadium, the 72,000-seat home to the the National Football League’s Houston Texans. Houston is the nation’s most diverse city and home to an estimated 150,000 Indian Americans.