Trump, Biden's Indian-American supporters intensify their campaign
Washington: With less than 50 hours to go for the US presidential elections, Indian-American supporters of both President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden on Sunday intensified their campaigns, particularly in battleground states, asking the community members to get out and vote and support their respective leaders.
Trump, a Republican, is seeking re-election to the White House in the November 3 presidential polls. He is challenged by Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
Unlike in the previous years, the campaigning among Indian Americans have this time restricted their campaigns to mainly the digital domain and phone banking due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both the campaigns have planned to intensify their phone calls to Indian-American supporters, send them messages on WhatsApp, and reach out to them through other social media and emails.
Indian-American supporters of President Trump's campaign organized a couple of events for the community including a fire chat conducted by Indian Voices for Trump with Nikki Haley, the former US Ambassador to the United Nations.
President's two sons Donald J Trump Jr and Eric Trump engaged with the community respectively at a meet and greet event in New York and Atlanta in Georgia.
Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump paid floral tributes to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi along with members of the Sikhs for Trump and India Voices for Trump.
The Biden Campaign outreach has been mainly in the virtual domain. Former vice president Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris organized a special India Independence Day event for Indian Americans.
Biden and Harris have greeted Indian Americans on the occasion of various festivals including the recently concluded Navaratri.
Biden also wrote an op-ed in the ethnic India West newspaper, asserting the strong relationship that he has with the community and his strong ties with India.
At least two recent surveys indicated that the majority of Indian Americans support Biden. But they also indicated that the support base of Indian Americans for the Democrats has shrunk a little bit and have started moving towards the Trump campaign.
Another survey conducted by Al Mason, from the Trump Campaign, claimed that in battleground States at least 50 percent of the Indian Americans who voted for the Democrats in 2016 will vote for Trump this election cycle.
Engaged in outreach with messaging - to Indian American Voters in the battleground states of Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas, and Wisconsin, Sridhar Chityala, who is on the advisory board of Indian Voices for Trump Coalition, said that his campaign activities are very different from the Democratic party-perfect messaging structured with public views - not political or personal views -which resonates.
How else do you see 30 Million impressions thus far on the video four 4 More years -plus grass root-level contributions, he said, referring to a Modi-Trump video that was released by Donald J Trump Jr and Kimberly Guilfoyle, a top campaign official, during the Republican Convention in August.
Neha Dewan, national director for South Asians for Biden, said former vice president Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris have made unprecedented efforts to reach out to the South Asian community this election and earn our votes.
Ajay Bhutoria, who flew from California to Philadelphia to attend the launch of Biden's presidential campaign almost 18 months ago, said that Biden and Harris understand the South Asian community best and they will be the best friend for India and Indian Americans.
India-US relationship has never been so good as under President Trump and his administration, said Al Mason from the Trump Campaign. It is under his administration that for the first time ever we had a cabinet ranking Indian American, he said.
He (Trump) is a reliable friend to India, said eminent community leader Sudhir Parikh.
Community leaders from both the campaigns said that a large number of people are working round the clock through phone banking or through other digital mediums to reach out to the community.
While Indian Americans have raised millions for both the campaigns and a number of them have campaigned aggressively for both of them, the actual voting percentage for the community is far below the national average.
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Accused gunman at correspondents' dinner was believed to be targeting top officials, Blanche says
Washington (AP): The accused gunman who tried to storm the ballroom at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner with guns and knives travelled across the country before the event and is believed to have been targeting members of the Trump administration, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday.
Blanche also said officials believe the suspect traveled by train from California to Chicago and then on to Washington, where in recent days he checked in as a guest to the hotel where one of Washington's glitziest events was being held Saturday night.
Investigators have not publicly named the suspect, but two law enforcement officials familiar with the matter have identified him to The Associated Press as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California.
Law enforcement officials who have examined the gunman's electronic devices and his writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner. He attempted to charge into the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a chaotic scene that resulted in shots being fired, President Donald Trump being hurried off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.
“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC's “Meet the Press.”
The suspect is believed to have purchased the firearms he carried within the last couple of years, Blanche said. He is not being cooperative and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday.
Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was taken into custody and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.
“He failed,” Blanche said on CBS's “Face the Nation.” “Law enforcement did their jobs.”
Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.
A May 2025 profile photo of Allen appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted Saturday night by Trump. The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master's degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Allen earned a bachelor's degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
The shooting at the security barricades happened minutes after the event got underway.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realized something was happening. Hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as the president was escorted offstage. Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
After an initial attempt to resume the event, it was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled.
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