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Trump Says Modi Promised Him Millions of Indians Would Show up at the Airport to Welcome Him

India’s Prime Minister is hosting ‘Howdy Trump’ to welcome the US President visiting India later this month.
Shamani Joshi
Mumbai, IN
Trump says Modi promised him millions of people would show up at the airport to welcome him
Photo via Flickr

When Narendra Modi made an appearance in the US, he had a gathering of over 50,000 people ready to welcome him at the Howdy Modi event in Houston. And while not everyone was too cheery about India’s Prime Minister addressing a crowd across the Pacific Ocean, it ended up becoming the largest public gathering for a foreign politician in the US.

Now, as the American president Donald Trump prepares to make a maiden visit to India on February 24, Modi is making sure the controversial US leader feels welcomed in his land. So, he is hosting ‘Kem Chho Trump’ (translates from Gujarati to ‘how are you Trump’), an event at the newly built Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad in Gujarat, that is expected to be attended by more than 1.25 lakh people.

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Meanwhile, Trump is overcome with excitement at the thought of millions of people extending him a warm welcome. "He (Modi) said we will have millions and millions of people. He thinks we will have 5-7 million people just from the airport to the new stadium," Trump told reporters while discussing his upcoming India trip.

Over the last three years, both the heads of states have formed a strong personal bond, meeting four times in 2019 including their joint address at the Howdy Modi event which was attended by about 50,000 Indian-Americans.

Now, Trump is so excited about the sheer volume of people expected to be present, he even took a dig at Modi (who he also called a ‘great gentleman’), saying only 50,000 people were not enough. "When we have 50,000 people, I'm not going to feel so good. We'll have five to seven million people just from the airport to the new stadium. And you know it is the largest stadium in the world," Trump said.

He has even said that if all were to go well, he would also be open to signing a trade deal with India. Meanwhile, most people are eagerly waiting to see whether ‘Kem Chho Trump’ will truly trump ‘Howdy Modi’.

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