edison, n.j. <u+2014> donald j. trump declared himself <u+201c>a big fan of hindu<u+201d> and praised india<u+2019>s nationalist prime minister, narendra modi, at an indian-american charity event on saturday. mr. trump spoke at a benefit put on by the republican hindu coalition at a convention center in edison, n.j., a non-battleground stop that is hardly typical for a presidential nominee three weeks before an election. still, mr. trump seemed thrilled to be there. <u+201c>i am a big fan of hindu, and i am a big fan of india,<u+201d> mr. trump said, seeming to entangle the faith with the nation. <u+201c>big, big fan.<u+201d> while polls show that hillary clinton draws far more backing from indian-americans than mr. trump does, his anti-bureaucracy and country-first language closely tracks that of mr. modi, who has tapped into the disgust that india<u+2019>s hindu majority feels toward its government. this has given mr. trump a foothold of support among hindus in the united states, some of whom are also drawn to his strong talk about muslims, their longtime adversaries on the subcontinent. mr. trump said that mr. modi<u+2019>s view of government was in line with his own. <u+201c>i look forward to doing some serious bureaucratic trimming right here in the united states,<u+201d> mr. trump said. his remarks were preceded by musical numbers set to michael jackson tunes, and by a sketch depicting terrorists attacking a nightclub. proceeds from the event were to go to victims of terrorism. mr. trump also said that india would be the united states<u+2019> most significant ally in his administration. <u+201c>we will stand shoulder to shoulder with india in sharing intelligence and keeping our people safe mutually,<u+201d> mr. trump said. he then blamed his opponent, hillary clinton, for the rise of terrorism. <u+201c>this is so important in the age of isis, the barbaric threat hillary clinton has unleashed on the entire world,<u+201d> he said, using an acronym for the islamic state. find out what you need to know about the 2016 presidential race today, and get politics news updates via facebook , twitter and the first draft newsletter .
donald trump says he<u+2019>s a <u+2018>big fan<u+2019> of hindus
maggie haberman