© APU.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi walk around the NRG Stadium waving to the crowd during the Howdy, Modi! event in Houston on September 22, 2019.
The massive rally, held at Houston's NRG Football Stadium, launched some 90-minute music and dance show featuring around 400 artists entertained the audience who gathered hours in advance. People were chanting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's name long before he appeared in a welcome for a foreign leader rarely seen on the American soil.
The spectacle was both campaign event for Trump and the show of the "strategic partnership between the world's oldest and largest democracies," as the White House put it. Although it comes amid ongoing trade disputes between the two nations, the tensions were not reflected in the speeches that lauded strong ties and friendship, receiving ovations from the audience.
"India has a true friend in the White House," Modi said. "Friends, as I told you, we have met a few times and every time he has been the same: warm, friendly, accessible, energetic and full of wit."
And Trump confirmed that.
"You [India] have never had a better friend as President as President Donald Trump," he said. "Under PM Modi's leadership, the world is witnessing a strong, sovereign republic of India."
All in all, Trump gave his typical election campaign-style speech focusing on border security and dealing with illegal immigration, both hot issues for Texas, but added some Indian twist to it.
"Both India and US also understand that to keep our communities safe, we must protect our borders," Trump said. The US president also talked about NBA coming to India and Delhi planning to buy American liquefied natural gas.
Comment: That's populists for you: they're very popular!
Which is why the fake news media in both countries calls them both supremacist nazis...
Their speeches in full:
Modi is one hell of a public speaker. No teleprompters for him!