How is ‘Namaste Trump’ Expected to Stack Up Against ‘Howdy Modi’?

A side-by-side comparison on how ‘Namaste Trump’ is expected to stack up against ‘Howdy Modi’

Trump and Modi at ‘Howdy Modi’

(Photo: Reuters)

Video Editor: Vishal Kumar

As US President Donald Trump gears up for his maiden visit to India, drawing a parallel between ‘Namaste Trump’ and PM Modi’s Houston event ‘Howdy Modi’ is a certain side effect. And so we did.

While ‘Howdy Modi’ drew a crowd of 50,000 at Houston’s NRG stadium, ‘Namaste Trump’ is expecting an attendance of a lakh at Ahmedabad’s Montera stadium.

While ‘Howdy Modi’ was funded by volunteers and the BJP overseas affairs head said that the total cost of the event was unknown, ‘Namaste Trump’ is being funded by the government of Gujarat and is expected to cost over Rs 80 crore.

Rumours of a trade deal between the US and India were afloat for a long time and was expected to happen after ‘Howdy Modi’, but it didn’t. There has been no confirmation on a trade deal this time around either, but Trump said that a “big deal” is in the books for “later on”.

Well, we can have a trade deal with India but I’m really saving the big deal for later on. We’re doing a very big trade deal with India. We’ll have it. I don’t know if it’ll be done before the election, but we’ll have a very big deal with India.  

Donald Trump, President of the United States

Traditional dance performances will be a part of ‘Namaste Trump’, just like it was for ‘Howdy Modi’. The performers will be performing along the route as President Trump travels to Motera stadium.

PM Modi had given a shout-out to Trump at ‘Howdy Modi’ by appealing to the Indian diaspora, and another political shout-out is definitely expected this time around, especially since the US presidential elections are around the corner.