By A.R.
“THIS IS extraordinary, unprecedented,” said Narendra Modi, before a whooping crowd of 50,000 in a stadium in Houston. The Indian prime minister was not wrong. He has appeared before plenty of big rallies of his diaspora supporters, in America, Britain, Australia and many points in between. In America it is usually up-and-coming politicians who join Mr Modi for the shows. At Madison Square Gardens in 2014, his first big foreign hoop-la, for example, Nikki Haley and Cory Booker were among over a dozen American politicians to show up.
What was new about the “Howdy, Modi!” event on September 22nd was that America’s president was ready to serve as such a warm-up act for Mr Modi. At this one Donald Trump, who usually expects to dominate events where adoring, fired-up crowds roar their support, smiled awkwardly as the stadium chanted “Mo-di, Mo-di”.
