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Trump And Modi Want A Lot From Their India Stunt. They Won't Get It All.

President Donald Trump knows what he’ll be looking for when he lands in India on Monday ― and his host, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has a wishlist for the trip too. With their own political careers facing new threats at home, the two ultra-nationalist leaders are putting on a show that they hope will have global ramifications.

“We’ll have seven million people between the airport and the event,” Trump said on Wednesday, referring to a “Namaste Trump” rally planned for a 110,000-seat cricket stadium in the city of Ahmedabad in Modi’s home state of Gujarat. The president’s biggest foreign trip of this election year so far is a chance to show that, as he frequentlyclaims despite evidence to the contrary, he has made America more respected worldwide ― and to revel in the displays of adoration he enjoys.

(Ahmedabad’s population is estimated to be eight-and-a-half million. To make Trump’s vision a reality, 80% of the city would have to participate in the roadshow.)

Modi wants to bolster his narrative that, in the words of his senior ally and home affairs minister Amit Shah, he has “put India on the world stage as a leading voice.” International attention has been a major concern of his for years. When first elected prime minister in 2014, Modi pitched himself as a reformer for the world’s most populous democracy who would make it a top player in the global economy and world politics. Now he’s facing tough foreign criticism for targeting his country’s millions-strong Muslim minority and making Indian society less tolerant of dissent ― and he’s keen to prove that doesn’t make him a pariah. Throughout, he’s relied on support and financial backing from Indians abroad.

Students in Mumbai paint an image of President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Feb. 21, 2020, ahead of Trump's visit to India. (INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)
Students in Mumbai paint an image of President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Feb. 21, 2020, ahead of Trump's visit to India. (INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)

Both politicians have great expectations for how Trump’s India visit will pay off, just five months after their high-profile “Howdy Modi” event in Texas. But for all their ideological and personal affinity as fellow practitioners of the politics of...

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