Trump talks business on second day of India visit

President Donald Trump addresses a business roundtable meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump veered into US politics during his remarks at a business roundtable meeting in India’s capital New Delhi on Tuesday.

Trump said that if he wins reelection in November, markets will soar. “I think the market’s going to go up like a rocket ship,” he claimed.

He also predicted general market volatility should Democrats win in November, suggesting that markets would be “down” for a while if Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders won the race.

“If I don’t win, you’re going to see a crash like you’ve never seen before,” he added.

Trump repeated claims that his potential Democratic rivals are having trouble inspiring enthusiasm among voters.

“I don’t think there’s going to be anyone on the other side who’s very inspirational,” he said.

A man walks on a deserted road after clashes erupted in New Delhi, India, on Tuesday, February 25.

Several Indian journalists have been injured in the capital New Delhi amid the second day of clashes over a contentious citizenship bill.

Violence erupted during a protest over the bill on Monday, leaving seven dead, including a police constable, just hours ahead of President Donald Trump’s arrival.

Arvind Gunasekar, a correspondent working for NDTV, told CNN he was in East Delhi reporting on violence at a Muslim graveyard on Monday when a mob of around 20 people turned on him. Gunasekar said the group had been yelling pro-Hindu slogans.

Hindi-language news channel JK 24 x 7 reported on Twitter that its correspondent, Akash Napa, was shot by rioters in the neighborhood of Maujpur.

Asad Ali, who works at a factory in East Delhi, said he witnessed more violence on Tuesday.

“There are a lot of mobs outside and they are running around with rods breaking windows and destroying vehicles. We aren’t able to leave our houses. They are pelting stones as well,” Ali said. 

CNN has reached out to local police for comment.

Indians have been protesting for months over the Citizenship Amendment Act, which gives Indian citizenship to immigrants from three neighboring countries – but not if they are Muslim. Critics fear the bill could further marginalize the country’s Muslim minority.

US President Donald Trump addresses a business roundtable meeting at Roosevelt House in New Delhi on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Tuesday that the novel coronavirus will be a short-term problem, which won’t have lasting effects on the global economy.

“I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away,” Trump said at the start of a business roundtable in New Delhi.

Trump noted that futures were higher ahead of Tuesday’s market open, a day after coronavirus fears slammed Wall Street.

“Things like that happen and you have it in your business all the time,” he told the gathered executives. “It had nothing to do with you. It was an outside source.”

Trump outlined his administration’s efforts to contain the virus, claiming the US had “essentially closed the borders.”

“We’re watching very carefully,” Trump said. “We’re fortunate so far and we think it’s going to remain that way.”

He also heaped praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping for his efforts to contain the virus, despite the leader coming under withering criticism from others.

“If you know anything about him I think he’ll be in pretty good shape,” he said of Xi. “They’ve had a rough patch.” 

President Donald Trump landed in India yesterday morning in Ahmedabad, the hometown of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The two leaders spoke to a large crowd at the Motera cricket stadium, with Trump even trying out a few phrases in Hindi.

People listen to Trump's speech during the rally at Sardar Patel Stadium.

Then Trump, joined by first lady Melania Trump and at times a tour guide, spent more than an hour touring the grounds of the Taj Mahal in Agra, including winding down on a path in front of the majestic white marble building and posing for countless pictures during the Indian golden hour.

Trump and the first lady tour the grounds of the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Today, the Trumps visited the Raj Ghat, the memorial to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. They laid a wreath, threw flower petals onto the memorial, and performed a tree planting ceremony.

Then, it was off to Hyderabad House to get down to business, with formal talks between Trump and Modi on issues like trade and national security.

President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed defence and security during their bilateral meeting, said Modi during a joint statement earlier in New Delhi.

“The increasing defence and security cooperation between India and the United States is a very important aspect of our strategic partnership,” said Modi, adding that US-India relations were “the most important partnership of the 21st century.”

Modi said cooperation in ultra-modern defence equipment and platforms would “enhance India’s defence capabilities” and that defence manufacturers are becoming part of each other’s supply chains.

In joint statements outside Hyderabad House in New Delhi just now, President Donald Trump expressed optimism regarding a US-India trade deal and announced new defense spending after a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Calling the brief visit “very productive,” Trump said a “major focus” of the US and India is forging “fair and reciprocal” bilateral economic relationships.

No deal yet: While a deal will not be announced during this trip, Trump said the negotiating teams “made tremendous progress on a comprehensive trade agreement.”

Defense spending: Additionally, the nations, he said, “expanded our defense cooperation,” announcing that India will purchase more than $3 billion in “advanced American military equipment, including Apache and MH-60 helicopters, the finest in the world.”

Trump praised Modi and said he and the first lady have been “awed by the majesty of India” and the “exceptional kindness and generosity.”

The two leaders did not take questions.

Next up: Trump will hold a press conference later today.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked President Donald Trump and his delegation earlier today during brief comments to press in New Delhi.

“We welcome you here and I am very happy that yesterday you had visited all the places,” Modi said, according to a CNN translation of his comments.

Modi was referring to the “Namaste Trump” rally held yesterday in India’s largest cricket stadium, which has a capacity of 110,000 people.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves alongside Trump at Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad.

US President Donald Trump received a rapturous welcome yesterday when he touched down in India – but relations between the two countries haven’t always been so warm. Here are six things to know about US-India relations:

The start of independent ties: India’s first Prime Minister visited the US in 1949, soon after India gained independence from British rule – but relations worsened in the coming decades.

India wasn’t formally aligned to any side during the Cold War, but grew closer to the Soviet Union, which was giving New Delhi economic and military assistance in the 60s.

Chaos in 1971: The 1971 India-Pakistan War led to the creation of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan. The US sided with Islamabad, given Pakistan’s role as a mediator for the US with China.

In 1968 India had refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, accusing the US, the Soviet Union and the UK of “atomic collusion.” After the 1971 warfare, India ramped up its nuclear development, and approved plans for the first nuclear test in 1972.

India’s nuclear ambitions damaged US relations: In 1974, India held its first successful underground nuclear test. India maintained the test was for peaceful purposes, but many other countries weren’t convinced, and it led to decades of estrangement with the US.

President Bill Clinton, his daughter Chelsea, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Indian President K.R. Naraynan, in New Delhi on March 21, 2000.

A new era: US President Bill Clinton visited India in 2000, the first such trip by a US president for more than 20 years. It thawed relations, and the nuclear issue was effectively set aside in 2005, when the two governments signed a framework lifting a US moratorium on nuclear energy trade with India.

The relationship today: The US is now India’s largest trading partner in goods and services combined – but trade tensions have arisen after the US filed a lawsuit in 2018 against India for subsidizing exports.

There’s also the issue of restrictions on H-1B work visas: Trump has repeatedly accused tech companies in the US of using the program to replace Americans with cheaper foreign workers. 

The Indian diaspora: There are an estimated four million Indian-origin American citizens, along with a further one million non-resident Indians and more than 200,000 Indian students in the US.

Indians with foreign citizenship cannot vote, but they are among the richest immigrant communities in the US. For Trump, now in an election year, a visit to India could generate backing from the Indian diaspora back in the US.

Read the full story here.

President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi just finished their closed-door bilateral meeting, and gave short statements to press.

Trump thanked Modi, calling his two-day state visit “amazing.”

“We have millions of people from India living in the United States and doing very well in the United States,” the President said. 

Trade talks: He said he and Modi have made progress on “trade, fighter jets, commercial airlines and various other things and energy,” adding that the countries are “working on some very substantial transactions.”

Crowd sizes: Trump proceeded to claim, as he does of his own stateside political rallies, that there were “thousands of people outside trying to get in” to the Namaste Trump event in Ahmedabad, touting the crowd size and adding that people “love” Modi. 

“Every time I mentioned your name there were cheers, so they love you in India and that’s a good thing,” he said to Modi.

Up next: The two leaders are expected to issue a joint statement outside Hyderabad House shortly.

Protesters gather during a clash between anti CAA and pro CAA demonstrations in New Delhi on February 24.

The death toll in New Delhi from yesterday’s violent protests has risen to seven – one policeman and six civilians, according to a senior police official.

Violence broke out in the Indian capital over a controversial citizenship law, just hours ahead of President Donald Trump’s arrival. Though things appear under control now, there is more protest action planned later, including sit-ins and a human chain.

Police condemned the violence today, and said they would take “legal action as required.”

Reddy added that numerous government departments were mobilized to handle the unrest, including the fire department, Home Ministry, local district magistrates, and police force.