No More ‘Howdy Modi’ Under Trump 2.0

Modi faced a subdued reception in the US, reflecting growing anti-immigrant hostility under Trump, writes Ajoy Bose.

A file photo of PM Modi and US President Donald Trump at the ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston, Texas.

(Image via Flickr)

Political observers, preoccupied with debating over whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi gained or conceded in his meeting last week with newly elected US President Donald Trump, seem to have missed out on a remarkable difference from Modi's previous visits to the US.

There was a conspicuous and significant absence of the Indian American community in the US coming out in large numbers to cheer the Prime Minister. This had become a ritualistic spectacle of both, obeisance to the supreme leader, and also a showcase of the high-profile of one of the most influential migrant communities in that country.

Modi, known for his fondness for projecting a larger-than-life profile, revelled in this public adulation, albeit from locals of Indian origin in the most powerful country of the world. His government machinery, backed by other cheerleaders, including the media, went out of its way to use routine prime ministerial visits for image-building geared towards domestic politics.

Indeed, last September, the Prime Minister, acknowledging the wild cheers of more than 15,000 NRIs packed in the Nassau Coliseum in New York, behaved more like a rockstar with his fans than a political leader on an official visit.

All this appears to have suddenly changed with the second coming of Trump, riding a wave of anti-immigrant racist hatred through his white supremacist Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.

Rising Anti-India Sentiments in Trump's America

Indian Americans, hitherto confident about their influence and status, are now reportedly being quite apprehensive about their standing in their adopted country, particularly since they have been singled out by ultra-nationalist supporters of Trump as a prime target.

Ironically, despite being the most prosperous migrant community in the US, the public display of hailing Modi as their leader on American soil during his visits, has not gone down well with the average MAGA fanatic who is deeply suspicious about anything foreign.

There have been several instances of President Trump’s core social base exhibiting hostility towards local Indians, who had previously been regarded by the traditional GOP (Republican Party) supporters as a model minority. The most striking provocation has come from an openly anti-Indian racist, Marko Elez, who works for the high-profile newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in Trump’s White House, run by his high-technology adviser, multi-billionaire business tycoon Elon Musk.

Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal revealed that Elez, a young computer science whiz kid who has worked for several companies owned by Musk, had recently tweeted hugely offensive comments such as “Normalise India hatred” and "99 percent of Indian H1Bs will be replaced by slightly smarter LLMs (AI software), they're going back, don't worry guys."

Although Elez briefly resigned after the newspaper exposé, to the horror of the Indian American community, he was reinstated by Musk himself after apparently running a poll on his X handle that showed widespread support for Elez's return.

To add insult to injury, US Vice-President JD Vance, whose wife is an Indian immigrant, sought to back his reinstatement on the plea that although he did not agree with Elez’s anti-India tirade, it did not warrant his departure from DOGE.

Interestingly, shortly after Vance’s own swearing-in ceremony, when Indian American lawyer Harmeet Dhillon recited a Sikh prayer onstage at the inaugural Republican National Convention, this was savagely criticised by MAGA supporters as an example of “racial and ethnic pandering”.

While there is some reassurance among Indian Americans in the appointment of Trump loyalist Kash Patel — who is of Gujarati origin — as the new FBI chief, there is also the disturbing case of the public humiliation of another Trump loyalist, Indian American entrepreneur and Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy. He was arbitrarily removed from DOGE after being tasked by President Trump to run it alongside Musk.

Apart from a reported personality clash with Musk, Ramaswamy’s Indian origin appears to have made him a target for ultra-nationalist conservative commentators. One of them, Anne Coulter, a controversial white supremacist, reshared a video posted by US Border Police of “illegal Indian aliens” being deported, shackled, and handcuffed back to their home country in a US military aircraft, with the sarcastic gibe, “Anybody named Vivek on that plane?”

Indian Deportees Become Spectacle

There is little doubt that, quite apart from those Indians who do not have valid immigration papers, images of these illegal deportees being trussed up like criminals and deported back in a military plane are troubling for the larger Indian American community.

Deportations of migrants violating local immigration laws are not new and have been happening regularly over the past many years. But this is the first time that the US government has sought to send them back like captured terrorists in a high-security military aircraft, with widespread publicity, which cannot but hurt NRI sentiments even as they further inflame anti-India feelings in the MAGA movement.

Indian Americans are believed to be also crestfallen that despite an ostensibly successful working meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump, there has been no change in the rough and ready manner in which these deportations continue, belying promises from Indian officials that they would take up the matter with US authorities.

Unfortunately, both the Indian government and the local Indian community have to contend with Trump playing to the gallery of his vast anti-migrant base, and New Delhi appears reluctant to raise concerns, unlike other countries who have roundly condemned it.

Cooling Relationship

There is also some disquiet about the pointed refusal by the new Trump administration to speak about a special relationship with India and its Prime Minister, unlike the previous president or the current incumbent in his first term.

So far, an impression has been assiduously projected by officials, the ruling party, and media cheerleaders that Modi and Trump have an equation that would be to the clear advantage of India which Indian Americans hope to bask in reflected glory. But while there were no discordant notes during the Modi-Trump meeting or their joint press conference, it was clear that the Indian Prime Minister would not get VIP treatment at the White House.

In fact, there are telling images of President Trump welcoming other world leaders at the door on their working visits, such as the King of Jordan and the Prime Ministers of Japan and Israel, while leaving a protocol officer to greet Modi and escort him into the presidential house.

Trump, perhaps once again with an eye on his MAGA following, also seems to be especially targeting India in his mission to change what he claims is an unequal trade relationship with other countries that is costing the US billions of dollars.

Significantly, in his joint interview with Elon Musk at his side, on 19 February, Trump seemed to be dismissive of the Indian Prime Minister when, unprompted, he brought up his discussions with the latter on reciprocal tariffs. He said that he firmly turned down Modi’s objections to equal tariffs between the two both countries and emerged victorious, declaring, “Nobody can win an argument with me."

(The writer is a Delhi-based senior journalist and the author of ‘Behenji: A Political Biography of Mayawati’. He wrote 'For Reasons of State: Delhi under Emergency' co-authored with John Dayal published by ESS Publishers, 1977, republished by Orient Paperbacks Vision Books, 1977, and republished by Penguin Random House, 2018. This is an opinion piece. The views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)