''Namaste Trump'' (stylised as नमस्ते TRUMP) was a tour event held on 24 and 25 February 2020 in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It was the inaugural visit of the then

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

and his family to India. A rally event of the same name was held in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, and was the highlight of the tour, as a response to the ''"

Howdy Modi The following is a list of international prime ministerial trips made by Narendra Modi since he became the Prime Minister of India following the 2014 Indian general election. He did not make any international trips in 2020 due to COVID-19 pand ...

"'' event held in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, in September 2019. The

Narendra Modi Stadium The Narendra Modi Stadium (Gujarati: નરેન્દ્ર મોદી સ્ટેડિયમ; Hindi: नरेन्द्र मोदी स्टेडियम), formerly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium is a cricket stadium ...

(then known as Motera Stadium) hosted US President Trump and his family along with Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

. An attendance of over 100,000 people was reported, with some speculating an attendance as high as 125,000. The tour was originally named "Kem Chho Trump" but was renamed by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

to promote

Indian nationalism Indian nationalism is an instance of territorial nationalism, which is inclusive of all of the people of India, despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Indian nationalism can trace roots to pre-colonial India, b ...

over

regionalism Regionalism may refer to: * Regionalism (art), an American realist modern art movement that was popular during the 1930s * Regionalism (international relations), the expression of a common sense of identity and purpose combined with the creation a ...

Main event

The main event at the stadium was organised in the afternoon and was the highlight of the President's visit to India. The event served as a platform for the US President and Indian Prime Minister to display their friendly relationship with each other. While initial reports suggested that Trump would inaugurate the Motera Stadium, it was later disregarded as "speculation and assumption".

Taj Mahal visit

Trump also visited the

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

Agra, Uttar Pradesh Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...

on the same day. In Agra, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh,

Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born on 5 June 1972 as Ajay Singh Bisht),

welcomed the President and the First Lady on their arrival at Agra Airport. An exposition event with 3000 cultural artists showcasing the art and culture of various regions in India also took place. The Trump family then visited the Taj Mahal informally, with no official personnel except the tour guide, and protective personnel such as the

United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

and India's

National Security Guard The National Security Guard (NSG), commonly known as Black Cats, is a counter-terrorism unit of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was founded on 16 October 1984, following Operation Blue Star, for combating terrorist activities and p ...

Banquet and trade deals

After visiting the Taj Mahal, the President and his family headed towards New Delhi, to stay at the ITC Maurya, which was heavily surrounded by security personnel from both countries. They also attended the dinner banquet hosted by the President of India

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...

. The next day, the First Lady visited Sarvodaya Vidyalaya Senior Secondary Co-Educational school in Nanakpura, South Delhi. President Trump and Prime Minister Modi addressed common issues such as 5G connectivity, trade deals, and signed a US$3 billion defense deal.

Preparation

Ahead of Trump's visit to Ahmedabad, the Gujarat state government had built a new wall. The construction of this wall was protested by social workers claiming that it was created for hiding slums. However, officials denied this and said that it was built due to security reasons. In order to keep all roads and walls around the airport spotless from the "red liquid" spat out by the ''

paan Betel nut chewing, also called betel quid chewing or areca nut chewing, is a practice in which areca nuts (also called "betel nuts") are chewed together with slaked lime and betel leaves for their stimulant and narcotic effects. The practice ...

'' () consumers during the Trump visit, the health department of the

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation The Amdavad Municipal Corporation, or the AMC, established in July 1950 under the Bombay Provincial Corporation Act (1949), is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Ahmedabad. History On 21 April 1831, the ...

sealed ''paan'' shops near the airport. The Uttar Pradesh government, too, cleaned up the city of Agra and released 500 cusecs of water into the

Yamuna The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...

river to improve its "environmental condition" ahead of visit.

Reception

Trump's visit coincided with

2020 Delhi riots The 2020 Delhi riots, or North East Delhi riots, were multiple waves of bloodshed, property destruction, and rioting in North East Delhi, beginning on 23 February 2020 and caused chiefly by Hindu mobs attacking Muslims. Of the 53 people kille ...

, with some Indian politicians and political commentators accusing the rioters of tarnishing the country's image, and some criticising the organisation of the event. The visit was criticised by the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

, which is the main opposition to the ruling

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

. They claimed it to be "extravaganza" and advised the government to use this opportunity to discuss key issues. Further, the leader of the Congress,

Priyanka Gandhi Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (''née'' Gandhi; born 12 January 1972) is an Indian politician and the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee in charge of Uttar Pradesh. She is the daughter of former Prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi ...

, demanded to know which government ministry was funding the private welcoming committee with the estimated amount of 100 crore for organising the Ahmedabad event. Earlier, India's Ministry of External Affairs had stated that a private organisation, Donald Trump Abhinandan Samiti (), was responsible for organising the Ahmedabad event.

References

External links

* {{Commons category inline , Namaste Trump February 2020 events in India Presidency of Donald Trump India–United States relations Foreign policy of the Narendra Modi administration Articles containing video clips