‘Plenty of distrust’: Indian diaspora unlikely to warm up to Modi’s ‘friend’ Trump, analysts say

The remark by Modi, who is the most followed head of government on the social media platform with more than 100 million followers, grabbed headlines, particularly since the two leaders have made several public appearances supporting each other.

Trump likened Modi to Elvis Presley for his star appeal at a joint rally in Houston in September 2019 that drew about 50,000 people. The two leaders more than doubled that crowd about five months later at a cricket stadium in the western Indian state of Ahmedabad, where they praised each other.

But even those who are diehard Modi supporters may not gravitate to Trump over fears that his regime will not be friendly to ethnic minorities, analysts say.

“Traditionally, Indian Americans vote overwhelmingly for the Democrats. However, this changed slightly in 2016 and 2020 with some shifting allegiances to Trump. Some Indian Americans may vote for Trump this time, but I can’t see it as a dominant trend,” said Uday Chandra, an assistant professor of government at Georgetown University.

The Republican leader said at a Black Journalists Conference in Chicago at the end of last month that Harris was “Indian all the way” before pivoting to a black identity for political gains.

Harris brushed off Trump’s remarks as “the same old show” of “divisiveness … and disrespect”.

“We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us – they are an essential source of our strength,” she told a meeting in Houston on Wednesday.

Harris, 59, is the first female vice-president in US history and the daughter of immigrants. Her Indian-born mother and Jamaican-born father were both academics and activists.

As a child, Harris went to both a black Baptist church and a Hindu temple – embracing both her