President in Awe

When US President Donald Trump was at the Rashtrapati Bhavan banquet, he was awed by the sheer magnitude and splendour of the halls. He is said to have told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that not even Buckingham Palace or the Kremlin had mesmerised him so much. And because he had little time, Trump had not even been able to see the Rashtrapati Bhavan completely. Modi told him it takes one full day. Maybe next time.

Waiting for a Burger

Trump came with his own cook and kitchen team. He is known to be a total meat person, his favourite meal being hamburger and chips. After becoming President, he used to initially order it from the McDonald’s nearest to the White House. But then security concerns made them put up a small McDonald’s outlet inside the premises. Trump is known to never have vegetables and the only way his doctors can get him to eat them is by adding mashed broccoli to his dishes. But Gujarat is mainly a vegetarian state. On the first day of his visit, Trump took a pass on vegetarian snacks at public events but when he returned to his hotel, he had a meat burger with Coca-Cola.

Welcoming Ivanka

The Modi team has a strong informal connection with Trump’s daughter Ivanka, something they have developed over the last few years given how much she is involved in American public life. When Foreign
Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla was earlier posted as Ambassador to the US, he was in regular touch with her. When she came to Hyderabad in 2017, Modi made it a point to interact with Ivanka. This time, when both sides were finalising the Trump visit, Modi personally invited her to come and she accepted.

Excited by the Crowd

Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Indian Ambassador to the US, was a key pointperson in organising the Trump trip. When he was finalising the details, Trump is said to have been interested in one thing—how many people there would be at the Motera stadium, and would the crowd be bigger than his earlier events in China and Japan. When Trump realised that Modi was not ready for a big trade deal, he was reportedly upset and even contemplated cancelling the trip but the massive stadium crowd attracted him. Modi has reportedly assured him of a trade pact with the US in two phases.

Cultural Fashion

First Lady Melania Trump is a former supermodel known for her elegant fashion and style statements. For her India visit, she kept the country’s history and culture in mind while deciding what to wear, including a sash made of Banarasi silk. One of her advisors was Rachel Roy, a US-based fashion designer friend with an Indian connection. Roy’s father was a Bengali from Chennai.

Media Space

Usually we think India is not that important for the US media, but the Trump visit was featured extensively. This was likely because of the trade implications for US businesses in any agreement that could happen. It is said that the coverage of the visit in the US was more than what it was when Brarack Obama and Bill Clinton had come.

House Cheer

At Hyderabad House, Trump and Modi had a good meeting, both one-on-one and also at the delegation level. Hyderabad House had recently been given a makeover. Once upon a time, it was a residence of the Nizams, the rulers of pre-independence Hyderabad. What is now a big kitchen used to be the residence of the wives of the Nizams. But recently, paintings and photographs of Indian regional art and culture were put up on its walls. The First Lady took special interest in appreciating
those paintings.

Short Guest List

The President’s banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan had a restricted guest list, perhaps because Trump had to leave by 10 PM. Select ministers were there, half-a-dozen media owners and not many editors. The seniormost ministers are usually guests by default but the Home Minister was absent, having to deal with the Delhi violence. However, Rajnath Singh, S Jaishankar, Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan were all there. At such a banquet, the protocol is that first the prime minster arrives, then the vice president followed by the president accompanying the visiting dignitary. Dinner was a five-course affair. All in all, a time-consuming event, which is why there were fewer guests.

Safety First

The Indian Government had suggested to the US administration that Trump, the First Lady, his daughter and son-in-law could stay in Rashtrapati Bhavan. When Pranab Mukherjee had been President, the Bangladesh president and some other heads of states had been housed there on their visits. But Trump decided to put up at the ITC Maurya hotel because the Secret Service insisted on it. Even former Presidents Clinton and Obama had stayed in that hotel because it is perceived to be good for security. An advance team of the Secret Service came and sterilised the whole floor of the Presidential Suite for Trump’s stay.

Donald TrumpIndia visitNarendra ModiRashtrapati Bhawan