AHMEDABAD, INDIA — President Donald Trump has opened a whirlwind 36-hour visit to India by basking in the adulation of a massive, colorful crowd at a cricket stadium in the western city of Ahmedabad.

Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi lavished praised on each other during back-to-back speeches to thousands of revelers packed into the stadium in 80-degree heat. It was the biggest rally crowd of Trump's political career.

Trump's visit is meant to reaffirm U.S.-India ties strained by trade disputes. But it's also providing enviable overseas imagery for a president in re-election mode.