Not now daal-ing, says MAGA, as Montana governor comes to India to sell pulses
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte is visiting India to promote agricultural exports, specifically pulses, to the Indian market. The trip has sparked backlash from some MAGA supporters who criticize the expansion of ties with India and the influence of Indian nationals in Montana's academic institutions.
Why it matters
The situation illustrates the tension within the Republican party between traditional pro-trade agricultural interests and the protectionist, anti-globalist stance of the MAGA movement.
TOI correspondant from Washington: In Montana, ‘traffic’ is when you have to wait for three deer and a stray cow to cross the highway, so goes the joke about a state where “just down the road” can mean a two-hour drive with no cellphone service. Yet for Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, one road this week stretches 8,000 miles, from the Big Sky State to India, home to 1.4 billion potential customers.Gianforte, a Republican, arrived in New Delhi on Monday at the head of a delegation of more than 30 Montanans representing agriculture, higher education, critical minerals, manufacturing, photonics, quantum technology and bioscience. The mission runs through October 9 and continues to Sri Lanka, and its major commercial pitch is deliciously simple: buy our daal, dahlings.Montana is America's largest producer of lentils and chickpeas and India is the world's largest consumer and importer of pulse crops.
Also covering this story
One other newsroom covered this event. We read that version too.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in