Ahmedabad, India — Kicking off a whirlwind 36-hour visit to India expected to emphasize pageantry over policy, President Trump received a warm welcome Monday on the subcontinent. He addressed a packed, huge cricket stadium, saying, “Thank you for the spectacular welcome.”
His trip is meant to reaffirm ties while providing enviable overseas imagery for a president in a re-election year. The visit also comes at a time of rising trade tensions between the two nations.
As Air Force One touched down in Ahmedabad in western India, the final preparations were underway for that day’s enviable trio of presidential photo-ops: a visit to a former home of independence leader Mohandas Gandhi, a rally at the world’s second-largest stadium and a trip to the famed Taj Mahal.
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Dancers in traditional attire, dancers and drummers lined the red carpet rolled out at the stairs of the presidential aircraft as Mr. Trump was poised to receive the raucous reception that has eluded him on many foreign trips, some of which have featured massive protests and icy handshakes from world leaders. Instead, he received a warm embrace when he got off the plane – literally – from the ideologically aligned and hug-loving Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At the former Gandhi residence, Mr. Trump and first lady signed the visitors book. The president wrote, “”To my great friend – Prime Minister Modi thank you for this wonderful visit!” The president also took a turn with Gandhi’s famous spinning wheel.
The sun-baked city of Ahmedabad jostled with activity the day before Mr. Trump’s arrival as workers cleaned roads, planted flowers and hoisted hundreds of billboards featuring the president and the first lady. Hundreds of thousands of people in the northwestern city greeted Mr. Trump for a road show leading to a massive rally at what’s been touted as the world’s largest cricket stadium, which is technically still under construction.
Mr. Trump’s foreign visits have typically been light on sightseeing, but this time, the president and Melania are to visit the Taj Mahal. Stories in local media warn of the monkeys that inhabit the landmark pestering tourists for food and, on occasion, menacing both visitors and slingshot-carrying security guards.
This trip reflects a Trump campaign strategy to showcase him in his presidential role during short, carefully managed trips that provide counter-programming to the Democrats’ primary contest and produce the kinds of visuals his campaign can use in future ads. His aides also believe the visit could help the president woo tens of thousands of Indian-American voters before the November election.
The visit also comes at a crucial moment for Modi, a fellow populist, who has provided over a steep economic downtown and unfulfilled campaign promises about job creation.
The president on Tuesday will conclude his whirlwind visit to India with a day in the capital, complete with gala dinner meetings with Modi over stalled trade talks between the two nations.
The trip isn’t without controversy. For instance:
The two nations are closely allied, in part to act as a bulwark against the rising influence of nearby China, but trade tensions between the two countries have escalated since the Trump administration imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium from India. India responded with higher penalties on agricultural goods and restrictions on U.S. medical devices. The U.S. retaliated by removing India from a decades-old preferential trade program.
Eyes will also be on whether Mr. Trump weighs on in the protests enveloping India over its Citizenship Amendment Act. It provides a fast track to naturalization for some migrants who entered the country illegally while fleeing religious persecution, but excludes Muslims, raising fears that the country is moving toward a religious citizenship test. Passage has prompted large-scale protests and a violent crackdown.
Typically, Mr. Trump hasn’t publicly rebuked world leaders for human rights abuses during his overseas trips. But one senior administration official said the U.S. is concerned about the situation and that Mr. Trump will tell Modi the world is looking to India to continue to uphold its democratic traditions and respect religious minorities.
