March of the Desi Brigade
Donald Trump doesn’t have the vote or support of most Indian Americans, but they do concede that his presence at a New Jersey rally in October marked a watershed moment for them.
It was the first time that a US presidential nominee had made a direct pitch to them, bowl in hand, acknowledging the growing clout of America’s wealthiest and best educated ethnic group.
Hillary Clinton, his rival, hadn’t made a matching bid, but she remembered to extend Diwali greetings to the community, and so did Evan McMullin, the independent hoping to draw away conservatives from Trump.
And the Republican nominee’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, attended a Diwali function in Virginia, a swing state, to which Indian Americans held the key because of changing demographics.
It’s turning out to be quite an election for the community. There have never been so many Indian-Americans in the race for the Congress, past the primaries: six, including, Kamala Harris for senate, and the five – Ami Bera, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jaypal, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Peter Jacob – for the House of Representatives.