In the quiet village of Konne in Telangana’s Jangaon district, a curious chapter in modern Indian history began with one man, a photograph, and an unwavering belief in someone thousands of miles away — Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States.
That man was Bussa Krishna, a humble farmer who, against all odds, transformed his admiration for Trump into a deeply personal form of worship. In 2017, shaken by the news of an Indian engineer being killed in a hate crime in the U.S., Krishna began seeing Trump not just as a world leader, but as a protective force — someone he believed could make the world safer for Indians abroad.
It started with a simple photograph in his puja room. Like any other deity, Krishna offered flowers, lit incense, and even performed aarti to the image of Trump. His neighbors were baffled at first, but Krishna’s conviction was unshakable. He told reporters that he saw Trump in a dream — declaring victory for India in a war — and ever since, he believed Trump was chosen by God to lead and protect.
Over time, what began as admiration became an obsession. In 2019, he commissioned a six-foot-tall statue of Trump, painted it with care, and placed it outside his house. He garlanded it daily, bathed it with milk, and celebrated Trump’s birthday with full rituals, sweets, and village feasts. For Krishna, Trump was not just a politician — he was a living god.
News of the “Trump Bhakt” spread like wildfire. Media outlets around the world covered the story. Some saw it as amusing, others called it bizarre. But to Krishna, it was deeply spiritual. He didn’t care about ridicule or attention. He fasted for Trump’s well-being, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. When Trump tested positive for the virus in 2020, Krishna was devastated. He stopped eating, refused to speak much, and locked himself away in worry.
Just days later, Bussa Krishna collapsed and died of a cardiac arrest. He was only 33. His sudden death sent a shockwave through the village — the man who had poured his heart into a foreign president had died without ever meeting him, yet fully convinced of his divine presence.
After his death, Krishna’s family moved away. The house that once echoed with chants of “Jai Trump” fell silent. The statue, once bathed in milk and decorated with marigolds, stood forgotten. Dust settled on its shoulders. Rituals stopped. No one else took his place.
But in 2024, as Donald Trump won re-election in the United States, something stirred again in Konne. Villagers who remembered Krishna’s devotion cleaned the statue, garlanded it once more, and offered flowers — not to Trump, but in memory of the man who had believed so completely.
Still, regular worship did not return. The shrine remains mostly abandoned, a relic of one man’s strange but sincere faith. Some call it blind devotion. Others see it as a tragic example of misplaced belief. But perhaps, above all, it is a story of how far the human heart can go in search of meaning, protection, and connection — even across continents.
Today, the Trump statue stands in silence, surrounded by weeds and fading memories. But for a moment in history, in a small Indian village, a farmer named Bussa Krishna believed he had found his god — and he loved him with all his heart.
