President Trump makes a splash at Motera Stadium

The US president spoke of the future the two countries could forge together

INDIA-US-DIPLOMACY-TRUMP US President Donald Trump speaks during 'Namaste Trump' rally at Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, on February 24, 2020 | AFP

There is always nervousness when US President Donald Trump stands up to make a speech. He is known to veer off course and say things that need an entire diplomatic machinery to then manage.

However, Trump at Motera was a host's delight. He made all the right noises and except for one mention about America's friendship with Pakistan, he had the 1.1 lakh audience in the stadium eating out of his hands. A tense Narendra Modi also began relaxing visibly as his speech wound Motera up without any statement that would put the carefully worked-out and much awaited visit under a cloud.

Trump used the right key words. He spoke of India's democratic strength, the rise of India, specially under Modi. He took care to mention Modi's flagship schemes when he said that under Modi 270 million Indians had been put out of poverty, over 70 million more households have access to cooking fuel, 600 million more have access to basic amenities, every village has access to electricity and over 320 million have connectivity to the internet. He also took the opportunity to take a dig at China, when he mentioned that India had accomplished all these feats as a democratic, peaceful country that gave its people the freedom to dream, which set it apart from those who intimidated and coerced their people. "India's accomplishments in the last 70 years is unrivaled anywhere in the world,'' he said expansively.

Trump had the audience in the stadium as well as those watching him on television grinning from ear to ear as he mentioned India's national icons, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, spoke appreciatively of "Bollywood" which makes "2,000 movies a year", and specially mentioned DDLJ and Sholay.

The US president spoke of the future the two countries could forge together, the distance they could walk together being much greater than the distance Trump had travelled from the US to be here in India, today. He spoke of the economic and defence partnerships, and even the future partnerships in space, with the moon mission and human space flight programme. "We will be partners on our voyage into the stars," he said, rather poetically, given his usually prosaic stance.

In fact, Trump was almost ticking every box in the bilateral, as he spoke about defence partnerships—Tiger Triumph exercise, the $3-billion sale of helicopters, Islamic radical terrorism. Even when he spoke about the trade deal (which is not happening during this visit), he spoke of it in a positive manner. Trump softened his known position on the trade deal with India saying the two of them would finally reach a "fantastic deal", which could even be great. He agreed that it was a work in progress at the moment, and for once, did not make any faux pas while trying to explain why the deal was not happening right now.

In fact, even as he called Modi a “very tough negotiator'' twice in his address, he made it sound as a compliment to his dear friend. Modi couldn't have asked for better endorsement, even if he had employed the best PR machinery.

It wasn't just what Trump said that made his speech a relief to his host. It was also what he didn't. He steered clear of any mention of Kashmir, even though he has repeatedly offered mediation services in the past (in the presence of Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, though, never in Modi's presence). Trump didn't make any comment of the Citizenship Amendment Act either, and in fact, when he spoke of India's religious tolerance, he chose to evoke the image of “Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Jews” worshiping in harmony side-by-side. "In fact, he endorsed India as a country of religious tolerance, using key words like the Ganges, the Golden Temple and the Jama Masjid.

With an eye on the forthcoming presidential elections back home, Trump made special mention of the Indian-American community in the US, noting that "one in four Indian-American traces roots to Gujarat.'' He commended the diaspora for enriching the US, calling the members titans of business and pioneers of science, among a host of other laudatory epithets. Trump also had an appreciative word to say for women entrepreneurs, warning the men to be very careful because women entrepreneurs were "very good''. He was referring to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit his daughter Ivanka had attended in Hyderabad in 2017.

A great deal of hugging, backslapping and waving to the crowds, and the Gujarat phase of the much awaited POTUS visit wrapped up with smiles all around.

As Trump heads for a day of business and diplomacy in New Delhi on Tuesday, the anticipation on how the day unfolds continues to build up.