Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump at Sunday's "Howdy, Modi" event. | Michael Wyke/AP Photo 2020 elections At a rally like no other, Trump woos Indian American voters ahead of 2020 The president tried to appeal to the growing political force at a huge ‘Howdy, Modi’ event with India's popular leader.

HOUSTON — It wasn’t your typical Trump campaign rally.

Instead of red Make America Great Again hats, there were turbans and Islamic caps. Women in traditional Indian garb danced to bhangra drums. And tens of thousands of cheering Indian Americans chanted “USA!” and snapped photos.


President Donald Trump appeared at a cavernous football stadium on Sunday alongside Narendra Modi, the popular prime minister of India, who attracted a crowd of 50,000 from across the U.S. to what was touted as the largest event in the country for a leader of a foreign nation.

“You have never had a better friend as president than President Donald Trump,” Trump said as the crowd roared with approval. “We thank you. We love you. I want you to know my administration is fighting for you each and every day.”

Trump is hoping to appeal to Indian American voters, a growing political force in the U.S., with his business-friendly agenda — especially the 2017 tax cuts — as well as his tough talk on terrorism and his decision to show up at the rally even though the ethnic group has generally backed Democrats.

“It’s giving a message to the Indian community that Trump is a big friend of India,” said Rupesh Srivastava, a Michigan businessman and founding member of the Republican Hindu Coalition. “That message will definitely motivate people.”

People cheer on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump at the "Howdy, Modi" event. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo

At the rally, Modi heaped praise on Trump, calling him “a great American president” and “a friend of India” who has a “strong resolve to make America great again.”

“His name is familiar to every person on the planet,” Modi said. “He was a household name and very popular even before went onto occupy the highest office in this great country … from CEO to commander in chief, from the boardroom to the Oval Office, from studio to the global stage. … He has left a deep and lasting impact everywhere.”

Trump, wearing his trademark dark suit and red tie, stood a few feet away in the middle of the stage, smiling broadly and surveying the stadium full of adoring fans.

Republicans have been trying for years to make inroads with Indian Americans, one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the United States, who register and vote at high rates.

The Republican National Committee is holding events for Asian Americans, including voter drives, has appointed a director of Asian Pacific American Engagement and stresses the record low Asian American unemployment rate of 2.1 percent.

“These are your Indian American hotel owners, they’re your Indian American doctors, maybe retired doctors, who frankly like some of the president’s policies, right?” said Ohio state Rep. Niraj Antani, an Indian American Republican. “We are the most highly educated, highest-earning ethnic group in the country, so when we are talking about pro-growth policies, Republican policies work for them.”

Still, more than 80 percent of Indian Americans voted for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, over Trump in 2016, according to polling by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Trump’s remarks Sunday were far more welcoming than those he gives regularly to other immigrants, primarily Hispanics who crossed the Mexican border illegally.

The USA Loves India! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 22, 2019

Trump’s reelection campaign is expected to forgo an official Asian American coalition in lieu of those for blacks, women, Hispanics and workers, according to people familiar with the plans — though a campaign official disputed it.

“We have only officially launched two of what will be an unspecified number of coalitions, so it would be incorrect and premature to suggest we don't have a certain coalition at this point,” the official said.

Some Indian Americans, whose families came to the United States legally to study or work, don’t mind Trump’s rhetoric on immigration because it’s primarily about illegal immigration, but others are turned off.

Trump’s job approval with Indian Americans was only 28 percent in 2018, according to the Asian American Voter Survey, a poll of registered Asian American voters. About 66 percent of respondents disapproved.

“If Republicans believe Donald Trump’s appearance with Prime Minister Modi will move our community towards the president, they're sadly mistaken,” said North Carolina state Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, an Indian American Democrat. “In 2020, I believe the Indian American community will overwhelming reject Donald Trump because his anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies run completely counter to our community’s story in America.”

Trump delighted — and surprised — Indian Americans when the White House recently announced that he would join Modi at “Howdy, Modi: Shared Dreams Bright Features” at NRG Stadium, home to the National Football League’s Houston Texans. Modi invited Trump to attend the rally — in the most diverse city in the nation — when the two leaders met at the G-7 summit in France in August.

“I’m very close to the folks from India,” the president told reporters on Sunday. “I love India, and I have a lot of respect and a great friendship with the prime minister of India, and he said, ‘Would it be possible to do it?’ And I said, ‘I’ll make it possible.’”

Trump may have agreed to attend to appease Modi after a tense few months between the two leaders, according to some observers of U.S.-India relations.

Trump kicked India out of a trade preference program for developing countries in March, and then infuriated Indians again in July by insisting that Modi asked him to mediate in the longstanding dispute between India and Pakistan over the region of Kashmir. But the two leaders now hope to finalize a limited trade deal later this week when they meet for a second time, on Tuesday during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

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Trump may also be fascinated by the popularity of Modi, who — like the president — rode to office on a wave of populist fury and launched a “Make in India” campaign. Trump previously commented on the number of Modi’s Twitter followers, and insinuated last week that the number of the Houston rally’s attendees grew because of him.

“He’s got a big crowd coming, and I guess the crowd just got a lot bigger because … he asked, would I go, and I will go,” he told reporters last week.

Houston’s Indian American community, consisting of roughly 150,000 people, lobbied Modi to visit after he announced that he would visit the U.S. All 50,000 tickets for the event were claimed in three weeks — before Trump announced he would attend, according to event organizers. Another 5,000 remained on a waiting list.

It took place in a state that long served as a Republican stronghold but where Democrats are making a play after their party saw significant gains in the 2018 midterm elections and following a series of GOP congressional retirements.

The rally, which was Trump’s largest yet and was broadcast to millions of people on U.S. and Indian TV, included a cultural program, in addition to the speeches by Trump and Modi. Thousands of watch parties were organized across the U.S.

On the route to the stadium, protesters lined the streets with Kashmir flags and cutouts of Modi. Most were there to rally against the prime minister, whom they blame for ethnic violence and human rights abuses.

Trump’s speech touched on many of the same topics that he addresses at his traditional campaign rallies, including the economy and job creation, but on Sunday he tied it back to his different audience, calling Indian Americans “thriving,” “prosperous” and “hard-working.” He received a standing ovation.

“You enrich our culture. You uphold our values. You uplift our communities,” he said. “You are proud to be Americans and we are truly proud to have you as Americans.”

A special gesture by @POTUS, signifying the special friendship between India and USA!



Delighted that President @realDonaldTrump will join the community programme in Houston on the 22nd.



Looking forward to joining the Indian origin community in welcoming him at the programme. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 16, 2019

After Trump and Modi spoke, the president unexpectedly joined the prime minister for a lap around the stadium with hands clasped together. The audience applauded while the crowd on the ground floor pushed into the barricades to snap photos.

The first time he ran for office, Trump promised to work with Indian Americans. He spoke to 10,000 Hindus waving “Trump for Hindu Americans” signs at a Bollywood-themed event in Edison, N.J., home to a thriving Indian community. “I am a big fan of Hindu, and I am a big fan of India,” Trump said awkwardly.

During that campaign, Illinois businessman Shalabh Kumar donated nearly $1 million to the joint fundraising campaign made up of Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee.

In 2016, about 1.2 million Indian American were registered to vote, according to Asian American and Pacific Islanders Data. Estimates put Indian American voter registration at 1.4 million in 2020.

After he got into office, Trump celebrated Diwali, the most important holiday for most Indians, and appointed Indian Americans to numerous high-ranking positions — Nikki Haley to ambassador to the United Nations; Seema Verma to administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Neomi Rao to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; and Ajit Pai to chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, among others

“Looking back to the 2016 election cycle, Donald Trump was the first candidate who stood on stage and said, ‘I loved Indians,’” said Adi Sathi, who served as director of Asian Pacific American Engagement at the Republican National Committee for two years. “That was unprecedented.”