New Delhi: It was meant to be a regular diplomatic evening—the formal address followed by dinner and polite conversations. Instead, the United States’ 250th Independence Day celebrations at Bharat Mandapam Sunday evening turned into an event unlike any diplomatic gathering seen in recent memory.
At the centre of it all was the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor. In a moment that stunned the audience, Gor dialled up US President Donald Trump live during the event and held the phone to the microphone so that guests could hear the President’s remarks directly.
“I just want to say hello to everybody. I love the Prime Minister. (Narendra) Modi is great, he is my friend and I just want to say a very good evening to everybody,” Trump said, catching the audience completely by surprise.
“I am a big, big fan of Prime Minister Modi,” Trump said. “We have never been closer to India and India can count on me 100 percent and our country. If they ever need help, they know where to call—they call right here.”
Asked by Gor if he had any message for visiting Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump described him as the “greatest Secretary of State in the history of the US” before concluding: “Say hello to Prime Minister Modi and let him know I’m a big fan.”
Before the surprise call, guests were treated to a performance by music maestro A R Rahman, who sang songs including ‘Dil Se’ and ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’.
The gathering, attended by guests drawn from diverse fields including diplomats, military officials, corporate executives, also saw External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar underline the shared democratic values between India and the US.
Jaishankar said the American Declaration of Independence articulated ideas that shaped the modern world like individual liberty, rule of law, free speech and accountable governance. He said that these ideas naturally resonated in India because of its pluralistic and consultative traditions.
He added that the experiences of the American independence movement had also been taken into account by the makers of India’s Constitution.
Rubio, whose birthday falls on 28 May, also celebrated in advance at the event by cutting a cake. The evening ended with a performance by the American band Village People.
Known among friends for his DJing skills, Rubio joked that he may perform next year but was currently bound by a Sony contract and, therefore, unable to appear at “unsanctioned events.”
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The Sergio Gor effect
Incidentally, this is Rubio’s longest foreign visit since taking over under the Trump administration. Beginning his India trip in Kolkata on Saturday, Rubio has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and held bilateral talks with Jaishankar.
He is scheduled to travel to Agra and Jaipur before returning to Delhi for the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting.
Government sources said since Gor took over as ambassador in January, bilateral diplomatic engagement has visibly intensified.
Considered close to Trump, Gor has brought with him an unconventional style of diplomacy—one that pushes through initiatives simultaneously in Washington and New Delhi.
The 39-year-old is known to pick up the phone and talk directly rather than go through the bureaucratic route.
Sources described Gor’s tenure so far as being marked less by traditional diplomacy and more by an explicitly strategic, transactional and high-visibility effort to deepen India-US alignment on trade, technology, defence and Indo-Pacific geopolitics.
He arrived at a time when India-US relations were facing friction over tariffs and trade, but worked aggressively to reinforce the personal chemistry between Modi and Trump, publicly describing India as America’s “most essential partner.”
Among the notable developments during his short tenure has been India’s accession to the Pax Silica initiative, a critical US-led supply chain framework. Significantly, Gor announced India’s invitation to the initiative even before formally presenting his credentials to the President.
Two days before officially assuming office, Gor addressed the media and embassy staff at a welcome ceremony inside the US Embassy, underlining that he intended to help take forward what he called the most “significant” bilateral relationship of the century.
The address itself was unusual because ambassador-designates traditionally avoid public remarks until after presenting their credentials.
Gor arrived at the embassy in a black BMW with flashing red-and-blue lights amid considerable fanfare.
Embassy staff welcomed him on the steps of the building holding a placard reading ‘Hold On I’m Comin Over’, the 1966 soul classic by Sam and Dave. The ceremony concluded with Gor addressing embassy personnel and the media.
The US envoy has repeatedly highlighted efforts to conclude a bilateral trade agreement and publicly backed the target of expanding India-US trade to $500 billion by 2030.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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