The real reason behind Trump’s visit to India

As the 2020 election looms on the horizon, the US president is attempting to entice more than 4.5 million Indian-Americans scattered across the US, writes Andrew Buncombe

Trump and Modi have frequently heaped praise on one another (Getty)

Everybody knows Donald Trump likes a spectacle, especially when it’s put on for his behalf.

From strolling with Emmanuel Macron on the Champs-Elysees, to stepping into North Korea with Kim Jong-un, and even tea with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace, foreign governments have realised making a fuss of the US president is likely the most effective form of diplomacy.

Where better then, for the president to visit than India, a fabulously friendly nation where people love celebrities, and which, with the use of huge crowds, marching bands on camels, and props such as the Taj Mahal, knows how to put on a show nobody forgets.