Donald Trump hugged Narendra Modi when he touched down in India on Monday for a two-day visit, a rare display of affection from the president that showed the friendship he feels for the prime minister.
Thousands of people have lined up in Ahmedabad to welcome the president and first lady Melania for their two-day visit.
Indian officials rolled out the red carpet for the Trumps and have dubbed the visit as ‘two dynamic personalities, one momentous occasion.’
Modi was on hand to greet the first couple as they stepped off Air Force One as were an array of dancers in colorful native costumes, who gave a festive start to the visit.
They danced alongside the red carpet amid live music as the prime minister led the Trumps to their car.
Melania Trump wore white pants with a long-sleeved white shirt and green sash around her waist for the arrival.
President Donald Trump hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he and Melania arrived in India
The rare display of affection from Trump showed his friendship for Modi
Melania and Donald Trump descend the steps of Air Force One for their two-day visit
It was a festive arrival with music and dancers greeting the party as they walked the red carpet
Indian people arrive at the cricket stadium where Trump will deliver his speech
The area where President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will speak in the stadium
Attendees wore white hats reading ‘Namaste Trump’ and were handed cardboard masks featuring the president’s face
The stadium holds 110,000 and will be the largest cricket stadium in the world
Indian people arriving at stadium
Trump sent a tweet in Hindi saying he was on his way
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who serve as White House advisers, were also on the trip and watched the arrival festivities from the sidelines.
And the president showed his enthusiasm for the trip, sending a tweet from Air Force One in Hindi while he was in route that read: ‘We are ready to come to India, we are on our way, we will be meeting everyone in a few hours.’
Thousands filled Motera Stadium – which will be the world’s largest cricket stadium after Trump formally opens it Monday – to greet the president, who will be joined by Modi at the event.
The massive rally has been dubbed ‘Namaste Trump,’ which translates into ‘Greetings Trump.’
Attendees wore white hats reading ‘Namaste Trump’ and were handed cardboard masks featuring the president’s face.
The president loves a big show and has bragged this could be the biggest event India has ever seen with millions in attendance. The stadium, which is still under construction, holds 110,000 although many more Indians are expected to line the 14-mile route Trump will traverse from the airport to the rally site.
‘I hear it’s going to be a big event. Some people say the biggest event they’ve ever had in India. that’s what the prime minister told me – this’ll be the biggest event they’ve ever had. So it’s going to be very exciting,’ he told reporters at the White House Sunday as he prepared to leave for India.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump depart the White House for a two-day trip to India
Melania Trump is joining the president for the state visit
Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel stand guard at the cricket stadium ahead of Trump’s visit
Billboards welcoming the Trumps have been hoisted around the towns of India they will be visiting
A monkey sits on a billboard featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump
A road is fumigated in Ahmedabad ahead of Trump’s visit
And the place will be spick and span for the president.
Workers have cleaned the roads and erected billboards welcoming the first couple. And a four-foot wall has been built to hide the nation’s infamous slums, which house more than 2,000 people, from the Trumps’ view.
Modi loyalists and police will line the road side in Ahmedabad – where the Trumps land Monday – to greet the first couple in the kind of pomp and circumstance the president adores – providing a grand lead-up to the world’s largest largest cricket stadium where Trump will hold the biggest rally of his presidential career.
Trump loves a big crowd and Monday’s rally, billed as ‘Namaste Trump,’ will feature over 100,000 cheering fans. Trump’s campaign rallies average between 10,000 and 20,000 depending on the venue size.
Trump said last week 7 million people in total would be out to welcome him, which would include the 14-mile route from the Ahmedabad airport to Motera Stadium.
‘He told me we’ll have seven million people between the airport and the event,’ Trump said last Tuesday.
Two days later, he raised crowd estimates.
‘I hear they’re going to have 10 million people,’ he said at a campaign rally. ‘They say anywhere from six to 10 million people are going to be showing up along the route to one of the largest stadiums in the world.’
It’s unclear how many will actually appear to cheer the president on his route but it is unlikely to be 10 million and may not hit six digits.
Ahmedabad has a population of eight million.
Modi’s government is dropping more than $14 million, according to the Associated Press, to woo President Trump as the two countries are embroiled in a trade war that shows no signs of abating.
That includes four-foot brick wall that has been quickly erected close to the stadium with some saying it is being built to block the view of a slum area inhabited by more than 2,000 people.
It will shield the President as he arrives at the event.
The stadium, which was built for $100 million, is a perfectly round venue that promises unobstructed views from every angle. It seats 110,000.
When Modi visited the United States last year, he and President Trump attended a ‘Howdy Modi’ rally in Houston that drew a crowd of 50,000 Indian Americans. Trump compared Modi to Elvis Presley at that event.