While maintaining his respect for India and its PM, the US President questioned the necessity of spending millions on voter turnout in a foreign country.
Washington: US President Donald Trump has hit out at the previous US administration, accusing it of interfering in elections in India, aiming at increasing "voter turnout", and trying to "get someone else elected".
While addressing the FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami, Trump said: "Why do we need to spend $21 million on voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. We have got to tell the Indian Government... This is a total breakthrough."
Trump said that India did not need that much money from USAID, saying the country has a lot more money. "Why are we giving USD 21 million to India? They have a lot more money. They are one of the highest taxing countries in the world in terms of us; we can hardly get in there because their tariffs are so high. I have a lot of respect for India and their Prime Minister, but giving USD 21 million for voter turnout?" Trump said at Mar-a-Lago.
The DOGE, led by billionaire Elon Musk, announced a series of expenditure cuts, including USD 21 million allocated for "voter turnout in India".
The claim by Trump that USAID money may have been used to subvert the Indian election reaffirms PM Modi’s proclamation during the 2024 election campaign that foreign forces were trying to influence the Indian elections.
