US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Prime Minister Modi promised him a 10-million-strong crowd on his way to inaugurate the Motera Stadium in Gujarat during the foreign leader’s two-day visit to India.
Speaking at a campaign rally for 2020 Presidential elections in Colorado Springs, the US President said on Thursday, “I’m going to India next week and we’re talking trade. They’ve been hitting us very hard for many, many years but I really like Prime Minister Modi. We gotta talk a little business. They’ve been hitting us hard. They give us tariffs, one of the highest is India.”
(Agra: Security personnel patrol the premises of Taj Mahal ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit, in Agra, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. PTI Photo)
Promising his supporters a great new trade deal, he said, “But I hear they’re gonna have 10 million people. 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— the largest cricket stadium in the world, which is brand new and beautiful.”
#WATCH US President Donald Trump: I am going to India next week, and we are talking trade. They have been hitting us very hard for many years. I really like PM Modi but we gotta talk a little business. One of the highest tariffs in the world is India pic.twitter.com/ZVUcD8g7Oq
— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2020
In a comic twist, the US President, who draws large crowds to his rallies in America said that the home crowd would look like peanuts thereafter.
“But you know what— and the only problem with doing that— Prime Minister Modi said we will have 10 million people greet you. Here’s my problem: we have a packed house. We have a lot of people, thousands of people that couldn’t get in. It’s gonna look like peanuts from now on. I’ll never be satisfied with the crowd if we have 10 million people in India. How can I be satisfied if we fill up like 60,000 seats? I’ll be spoiled.”
(Ahmedabad: An aerial view of Sardar Patel Stadium, which is expected to be inaugurated by US President Donald Trump, in Motera, in Ahmedabad.)
In response, one Trump supporter is heard saying, "Build a bigger stadium", to which the President responds, “That's a good idea.”
President Trump and First Lady Melania are scheduled to travel to Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi on February 24 and 25. Recently, the Ahmedabad city corporation was slammed for constructing walls to keep slums out of sight when Trump travels from the airport to the world's largest cricket stadium.