Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics U.S. Embassy in India launches Trump-themed rickshaws to mark America’s 250th birthday Delhi's rickshaws are plying the roads with a new message: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA" emblazoned with Trump's face. Drivers were offered sweeteners to host the signs: tea bags, soda, and an empty plastic bottle. World U.S. Embassy in India launches Trump-themed rickshaws to mark America's 250th birthday May 30, 20267:42 AM ET Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday By Diaa Hadid , Diantha Parker U.S. Embassy in India launches Trump-themed rickshaws to mark America’s 250th birthday Listen · 4:54 4:54 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5833149/nx-s1-9791239" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Delhi's rickshaws are plying the roads with a new message: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA" emblazoned with Trump's face. Drivers were offered sweeteners to host the signs: tea bags, soda, and an empty plastic bottle. Sponsor Message
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America's 250th birthday celebration extends all the way to New Delhi and the rickshaws there. Rickshaws are typically three-wheeled vehicles with a back seat for two people. They serve as taxis, and right now, many of them in the Indian capital feature Happy Birthday America signs with a picture of President Trump. NPR's Diaa Hadid reports.
(SOUNDBITE OF HORN HONKING)
DIAA HADID, BYLINE: I'm standing on a road near the New Delhi railway station, and rickshaws are whizzing by. It's a popular way to get around this city. They also have big sort of square backs, and so they're often used as advertising space.
(SOUNDBITE OF HORNS HONKING)
HADID: So one rickshaw has just gone by, and it has an advertisement for fertility treatments. Another one is advertising quick loans for $100,000 in just 24 hours. And in the past few days, you can see rickshaws around New Delhi that are emblazoned with Happy Birthday America.
(SOUNDBITE OF MOTORBIKE DRIVING BY)
HADID: They also say 250 Years Old. Some are accompanied by an image of the Statue of Liberty. Others have a portrait of President Donald Trump. There's one with Trump's face on Vindodh Mathua's (ph) rickshaw.
VINDODH MATHUA: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: Mathua says a marketing agent gave him a packet of tea bags as an incentive to put the sign on his rickshaw. He tells NPR producer Omkar Khandekar, I don't speak English, but I think it's about Donald Trump's birthday.
MATHUA: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: "No, no, no." He corrects himself. "The number is 250. It must be America's birthday."
MATHUA: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: Mathua says, "America seems like a nice country with good people."
MATHUA: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: But he also links America to the Mideast war, which has pushed up the price of gas. He says that's pushed up the price of everything else - milk, his kids' school fees, the rent.
MATHUA: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: He says, "it's really difficult for a poor person like me to survive."
MATHUA: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: Mathua says, "Trump could end this war in a minute if he wants." Down the road, Santosh Chauhan (ph) also has a Happy Birthday America sign with President Trump's face on his rickshaw.
SANTOSH CHAUHAN: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: Chauhan calls Trump a king...
CHAUHAN: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: Arrogant, transactional.
CHAUHAN: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: Chauhan says, "those are bad things." He says, "if a man like Trump ruled India, we wouldn't get rolled by Pakistan all the time." That's India's bitter rival. Chauhan, too, is a bit transactional.
CHAUHAN: (Speaking Hindi).
HADID: He agreed to have the Happy Birthday America poster because the marketing guys installed it in a way that made a new roof cover for his rickshaw. That helps protect Chauhan against the blazing heat. It's 111 degrees as we speak. He says, "if I had to pay for a new roof cover, it'd be a bit expensive, like $15."
These happy birthday America rickshaw posters are an initiative financed by the American Embassy in New Delhi. They call it the freedom fleet. We were at the embassy recently, where a rather Trump-friendly playlist blasted over the loudspeakers.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "Y.M.C.A.")
VILLAGE PEOPLE: (Singing) It's fun to stay at the YMCA. It's fun to stay at the YMCA.
HADID: We ran into the deputy spokesman John Brown and asked him about the Happy Birthday America rickshaws.
JOHN BROWN: This was a chance for us to get the word out and tell the people of India how excited we are about our nation's birthday.
HADID: And I asked Brown, why the advertisements had a picture of the president, not just symbols of America.
BROWN: He's our president. We're very proud of him, so it's a mix, right? You'll see some have President Trump. Some have the Statue of Liberty.
(SOUNDBITE OF VEHICLE ENGINE)
HADID: Back on those baking Delhi roads, rickshaw driver Vinit Singh (ph) also has a Happy Birthday America sign. His features the Statue of Liberty.
VINIT SINGH: We like it.
HADID: He says it's cool to be associated with a strong country like America, even if it's just through a sign. He says he's got a message.
SINGH: Happy birthday for the America, and very best for all the things.
HADID: The very best.
Diaa Hadid, NPR News, New Delhi.
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