US President Donald Trump said that "America loves India", in response to a tweet from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 4, the US independence day. "I congratulate @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and the people of the USA on the 244th Independence Day of the USA. As the world's largest democracies, we cherish freedom and human enterprise that this day celebrates," PM Modi tweeted.
Thank you my friend. America loves India! https://t.co/mlvJ51l8XJ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 4, 2020
Trump tweeted in return: "Thank you my friend. America loves India!"
Amid coronavirus, even as officials across the country pleaded with Americans to curb their enthusiasm for large Fourth of July crowds, Trump enticed the masses with a special evening of tribute and fireworks staged with new US coronavirus infections on the rise.
But the crowds wandering the National Mall for the night's air show and fireworks were strikingly thinner those the gathering for last year's jammed celebration on the Mall.
Many who showed up wore masks, unlike those seated close together for Trump's South Lawn event, and distancing was easy to do for those scattered across the sprawling space.
Trump did not hesitate to use the country's birthday as an occasion to assail segments of the country that do not support him. Carrying on a theme he pounded on a day earlier against the backdrop of the Mount Rushmore monuments, he went after those who have torn down statues or think some of them, particularly those of Confederate figures, should be removed. Support has been growing among Republicans to remove Confederate memorials.
"Our past is not a burden to be cast away," Trump said.
In many parts of the country, authorities discouraged mass gatherings for the holiday after days that have seen COVID-19 cases grow at a rate not experienced even during the deadliest phase of the pandemic in the spring.
-Inputs from PTI
