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Donald Trump speaks Hindi in campaign video aimed at Indian-Americans

'We love the Hindus, we love India' Trump says

Samuel Osborne
Thursday 27 October 2016 07:09 BST
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Trump pulls bizarre ad targeting Indian voters

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Donald Trump has released a campaign video in which he speaks Hindi in an attempt to appeal to Indian-American voters.

The ad begins with text wishing viewers a "Happy Diwali" and shows Mr Trump lighting a lamp at a Republican Hindu Coalition charity event.

"The Indian and Hindu community will have a true friend in the White House," Mr Trump said during the event.

"We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism," he adds, as the video shows a picture of the November 2008 terror attack in Mumbai, India.

The video, produced by Mr Trump's Indian-American Advisory Committee, also features Mr Trump using a variation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign slogan.

"Ab ki baar Trump sarkar," Mr Trump says in Hindi, which translates to "This time Trump Government".

It also features a new take on a popular Trump campaign slogan, which reads: "Great for America, Great for US-India relationship."

The ad finishes with Mr Trump saying "We love the Hindus, we love India," before showing a disclaimer saying the video was "Paid for by Donald J Trump for President inc" with a voice message from Mr Trump saying he approves of the message.

Shalabh Kumar, the chairman of Mr Trump's Indian-American advisory committee and founder and head of the Republican Hindu Coalition told BuzzFeed News the ad was running on all Indian-American channels 20 times a day.

“We wanted to reach out to Hindu-Americans to let everybody know that he loves Hindus, he loves India and he is looking forward to getting that message out that he identifies with Hindus,” Mr Kumar said.

There are around 3.4 million Indian Americans living in the US, according to a 2014 Census Bureau estimate.

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