President Donald Trump’s U.S. Ambassador to India was greeted with a Trump-inspired welcome at an inaugural event in New Delhi.
Staff at the U.S. embassy in New Delhi were instructed to crowd near Sergio Gor as he walked to the podium to make sure that their applause could be heard, according to a report from the Washington Post.
“Act like Elvis just walked into the building,” the mission’s deputy spokesperson John Brown told staff, according to the report.
Gor, who is also working as Trump’s special envoy to South and Central Asia, was indeed met with a round of applause from the audience.
He entered the event from his black BMW sports utility vehicle to the tune of “Hold On, I’m Comin’” by the 1960s soul duo Sam & Dave, a song which Trump was ordered to stop using on the campaign trail during the 2024 presidential election.
After his remarks, Gor walked out to one of Trump’s all-time favorite songs: “YMCA” by the Village People.
The Post reported that Gor chose the playlist himself.
The embassy did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Gor’s over-the-top inaugural event comes as U.S.-India relations remain fraught. While Trump originally welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House at the start of his term, relations between the countries have grown more tense in recent months.
The two countries have been at odds over India-Pakistan military tiff—one of eight so-called wars Trump claims to have ended—and India’s relationship with Russia regarding oil and trade.
“Real friends can disagree, but they always resolve their differences,” Gor said at the event as he attempted to downplay diplomatic tensions.
Gor has been in Trump’s orbit for years, having led a Trump-focused political action committee and most recently working as Trump’s director of presidential personnel. Political analysts have said Gor’s close proximity to the White House could be welcome news for U.S.-India relations.
“Gor offers a direct political line to Trump, something Delhi has been struggling with in recent months. The next few months will tell whether his role will help achieve a trade deal and normalize ties,” Constantino Xavier, a senior fellow for foreign policy and security studies at the Center for Social and Economic Progress, told the Post.
At the event, Gor noted that Trump is hoping to visit India “in the next year or two.”
“President Trump has a habit of calling at 2 a.m., and with the time difference in New Delhi, that might work out pretty well,” he added.
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