President Donald Trump’s time in office has been marked by one major gaffe after another, and the cascade didn’t stop when he visited India this week. Among issues like ridiculous public struggles with pronunciation, Trump even turned a solo press conference that he conducted into a spectacle of lashing out against his political enemies. Trump seemed to attempt to distract observers from the failures of his trip with a retweet spree this Tuesday featuring posts from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praising his relationship with Trump. In reality, Modi is just another nationalist who Trump is thrilled to pal around with.
Including photos of himself and Trump, Modi tweeted (and Trump retweeted and amplified):
‘Yet another excellent meeting and talks with my friend @realDonaldTrump. Relations between India and USA are not merely ties between two governments. Ours is a friendship that is people-driven and people centric. Our nations are cooperating extensively, which is a great sign.’
Yet another excellent meeting and talks with my friend @realDonaldTrump.
Relations between India and USA are not merely ties between two governments. Ours is a friendship that is people-driven and people centric.
Our nations are cooperating extensively, which is a great sign. pic.twitter.com/VPA8jdhAtI
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 25, 2020
यह संबंध, 21वीं सदी की सबसे महत्वपूर्ण पार्टनरशिप्स में है।
और इसलिए आज राष्ट्रपति Trump और मैंने हमारे सम्बन्धों को Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership के स्तर पर ले जाने का निर्णय लिया है: PM @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/Mt3UsybfCj
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 25, 2020
Although Trump glibly amplified the message, it’s a gross simplification of the situation. Right now, Modi’s own government is pushing a law that would explicitly exclude Muslims from a “fast-track nationalization” process, as PBS explains it — and does that sound familiar or what? Trump himself has, of course, spent a great deal of his time in his own office developing a punitive travel ban targeting Muslims from around the globe.
Deadly riots over the proposed new Indian law raged while Trump visited the country, although Trump declined to comment. On his own time, Esquire notes that Modi has been “accused of attempting to establish a Hindu-dominated society there, where Muslims would effectively be second-class citizens, and of complicity in a 2002 riot that reportedly led to the deaths of 1,000 Muslims.”
Besides the laudatory message from Modi that Trump retweeted, he also shared video from his White House social media director Dan Scavino Jr. depicting some of the pageantry that had been set up for Trump’s India visit, including a 21 gun salute, an apparent military procession, and more. Knowing Trump’s penchant for gross egotism, he no doubt loved the attention.
— Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸 (@Scavino45) February 25, 2020
— Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸 (@Scavino45) February 25, 2020
Check out Twitter’s response…
