Firstpost
  • Home
  • Video Shows
    Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports
  • World
    US News
  • Explainers
  • News
    India Opinion Cricket Tech Entertainment Sports Health Photostories
  • Asia Cup 2025
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
Trending:
  • Nepal protests
  • Nepal Protests Live
  • Vice-presidential elections
  • iPhone 17
  • IND vs PAK cricket
  • Israel-Hamas war
fp-logo
Trump to attend 'Howdy Modi' event: US president, seeking to burnish image ahead of 2020, banks heavily on Indian-Americans
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
  • Home
  • World
  • Trump to attend 'Howdy Modi' event: US president, seeking to burnish image ahead of 2020, banks heavily on Indian-Americans

Trump to attend 'Howdy Modi' event: US president, seeking to burnish image ahead of 2020, banks heavily on Indian-Americans

Deven Kanal • September 16, 2019, 20:22:24 IST
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter

With Donald Trump’s popularity hovering in the high 30s and the low 40s in most polls, and with House Democrats stepping up their impeachment inquiry, the US president is keen to seize any opportunity to raise his profile.

Advertisement
Subscribe Join Us
Add as a preferred source on Google
Prefer
Firstpost
On
Google
Trump to attend 'Howdy Modi' event: US president, seeking to burnish image ahead of 2020, banks heavily on Indian-Americans

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: An embattled politician, surrounded by controversy and scandal, latches on to a more popular contemporary to burnish his image. It’s a playbook as old as politics itself. So, news that United States president Donald Trump is going to drop in on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s event in Houston, Texas should come as no surprise to political observers. With Trump’s popularity hovering in the high 30s and the low 40s in most polls, and with House Democrats stepping up their impeachment inquiry, the US president is keen to seize any opportunity to polish his profile. That Trump is according Modi importance makes sense given his Indian counterpart’s undiminished popularity both at home and with expats. [caption id=“attachment_3055564” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] ![Donald Trump at the Hindu Republican charity event in New Jersey. Reuters](https://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Donald_Trump_Hindu_Reuters.jpg) Donald Trump at the Hindu Republican charity event in New Jersey. Reuters[/caption] Indeed, it is more than a little ironic that Trump is using Modi ahead of the 2020 presidential election much in the same way that Israeli prime minister  Benjamin Netanyahu is using Trump ahead of the 17 September Israel polls. The fact that it was  Netanyahu who lavished praise on Modi at the 2018 Raisina Dialogue and all but endorsed him ahead of the 2019 polls may prove true that old adage: the universe may not always play fair, but at least it’s got a hell of a sense of humour. Trump makes play for influential Indian-American community As per a report in the academic journal The Conversation, although Indian-Americans make up just one percent of the US populace (2.4 million), being the  wealthiest ethnic group in the US with a median income of $107,000 (twice that of American households), they are extremely influential. In 2004, a bipartisan India Caucus was formed in the US Senate headed by Hillary Clinton, then Democratic senator of New York, and John Cornyn, Republican Senator from Texas. This was the first time a Senate caucus was formed dedicated to a single country, as per the report. Trump from the outset of his presidential campaign, made a play for Indian-Americans; this despite the community strongly leaning Democratic —  84 percent of Indian-Americans voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and an identical percentage  voted for Trump’s rival Hillary Clinton in 2016. Trump hit headlines in India with his “I am a big fan of Hindu” remark and his praise of Modi for “taking India on a fast track growth with a series of economic reforms and reforming bureaucracy”. He is also perhaps the first candidate in US political history to release a campaign ad targetting Indian-American voters: borrowing Modi’s winning slogan in 2014 for a TV commercial with the slogan “ab ki baar Trump sarkaar”. Trump, since taking office in 2017, perhaps with an eye on 2020, has appointed more than two dozen Indian-Americans to senior positions in his administration — former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who was appointed ambassador to the United Nations, being the most prominent example — and praised them for their “incredible performance”. Trump tapped lawyer Neomi Jehangir Rao to serve on the powerful US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit as a replacement for Brett Kavanaugh, the controversial US Supreme Court judge. Rao, sworn-in in March, previously served as the head of the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and was recognised for her contribution in reducing red tape. Other high-profile Trump appointments include Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services and Raj Shah, the White House Deputy Press Secretary (the first Indian-American to hold this post). But with voters of Indian descent most likely to support former vice president Joe Biden — a candidate handily beating Trump in hypothetical matchups across the United States — it seems that the self-professed “big fan of Hindu” has an uphill climb. With inputs from agencies

Tags
Narendra Modi NewsTracker ConnectTheDots Kashmir United Nations General Assembly US President Donald Trump Narendra Modi US visit Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Howdy Modi US India trade deal US lawmakers on Kashmir Howdy Modi rally in Houston
End of Article
Written by Deven Kanal
Email

Deven Kanal kicked off his media career at Reader's Digest after graduating from The Times School of Journalism. With more than 13 years of work experience in the media, he has written on a variety of subjects — from human interest stories to sports, politics and pop culture see more

Latest News
Find us on YouTube
Subscribe
End of Article

Impact Shorts

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli remains caretaker PM amid chaos in Nepal. Protesters torched parliament, executive seat, Supreme Court, and presidential residence. President Paudel calls for dialogue as violence continues across the country.

More Impact Shorts

Top Stories

Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty

Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?

Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?

Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House

Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House

Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty

Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?

Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?

Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House

Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House

Top Shows

Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports

QUICK LINKS

  • Mumbai Rains
Latest News About Firstpost
Most Searched Categories
  • Web Stories
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • IPL 2025
NETWORK18 SITES
  • News18
  • Money Control
  • CNBC TV18
  • Forbes India
  • Advertise with us
  • Sitemap
Firstpost Logo

is on YouTube

Subscribe Now

Copyright @ 2024. Firstpost - All Rights Reserved

About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms Of Use
Home Video Shorts Live TV