At the centre of it all was the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor.
I love the Prime Minister.
Show Full Article“I am a big, big fan of Prime Minister Modi,” Trump said.
“We have never been closer to India and India can count on me 100 percent and our country.
Rubio, whose birthday falls on 28 May, also celebrated in advance at the event by cutting a cake.
New Delhi: It was meant to be a regular diplomatic evening—the formal address followed by dinner and polite conversations. Instead, the United States’ 250th Independence Day celebrations at Bharat Mandapam Sunday evening turned into an event unlike any diplomatic gathering seen in recent memory. At the centre of it all was the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor. In a moment that stunned the audience, Gor dialled up US President Donald Trump live during the event and held the phone to the microphone so that guests could hear the President’s remarks directly. “I just want to say hello to everybody. I love the Prime Minister. (Narendra) Modi is great, he is my friend and I just want to say a very good evening to everybody,” Trump said, catching the audience completely by surprise. Show Full Article
“I am a big, big fan of Prime Minister Modi,” Trump said. “We have never been closer to India and India can count on me 100 percent and our country. If they ever need help, they know where to call—they call right here.” Asked by Gor if he had any message for visiting Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump described him as the “greatest Secretary of State in the history of the US” before concluding: “Say hello to Prime Minister Modi and let him know I’m a big fan.” Before the surprise call, guests were treated to a performance by music maestro A R Rahman, who sang songs including ‘Dil Se’ and ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’. The gathering, attended by guests drawn from diverse fields including diplomats, military officials, corporate executives, also saw External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar underline the shared democratic values between India and the US. Jaishankar said the American Declaration of Independence articulated ideas that shaped the modern world like individual liberty, rule of law, free speech and accountable governance. He said that these ideas naturally resonated in India because of its pluralistic and consultative traditions. He added that the experiences of the American independence movement had also been taken into account by the makers of India’s Constitution. Rubio, whose birthday falls on 28 May, also celebrated in advance at the event by cutting a cake. The evening ended with a performance by the American band Village People. Known among friends for his DJing skills, Rubio joked that he may perform next year but was currently bound by a Sony contract and, therefore, unable to appear at “unsanctioned events.”
