U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the $ 21 million grant, saying it was meant to affect India’s elections. He spoke after the DOGE, supported by Elon Musk, canceled the funding. The money was supposed to help increase voter participation. Trump claimed it was meant to benefit a specific candidate.
U.S. President Donald Trump once again criticized the Biden administration’s decision to allocate $.21 million to India for “voter turnout,” suggesting it might be an attempt to influence elections there.
He remarked at a summit in Miami on Thursday,
“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 to inform the Indian Government… This is a total breakthrough,”
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Trump’s comments followed the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is led by billionaire Elon Musk, revealing that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had contributed $.21 million to enhance “voter turnout” in India.
The DOGE, established by Trump to focus on cost-cutting, listed various expenditures funded by U.S. taxpayer dollars on February 16, including the Rs.21 million for India, all of which have since been canceled.
Additionally, the DOGE noted that $.29 million was earmarked to “strengthen the political landscape in Bangladesh,” a nation that experienced political upheaval last year amid allegations of U.S. involvement in the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Another Rs.39 million was allocated for “fiscal federalism” and “biodiversity conservation” in Nepal, among other international projects.
Trump stated at the Miami gathering,
“In the past month, we have effectively eliminated USAID, which was financing much of this nonsense,”
He added,
“In less than a single month, DOGE has already saved over $.55 billion and we’re just getting started… We will rapidly grow our economy by dramatically shrinking the federal government.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump defended DOGE’s actions, questioning the use of U.S. taxpayer money for voter turnout initiatives in India.
He asked during an event at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida,
“Why are we giving $.21 million to India? They have plenty of money. They are one of the highest taxing countries in the world when it comes to 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 $.21 million for voter turnout? In India? What about voter turnout here?”
Following the DOGE’s announcement regarding USAID, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticized the opposition Congress party over the Rs.21 million grant, asserting that it represents “definitely external interference in India’s electoral process.”
Party leader Amit Malviya stated,
“Who benefits from this? Certainly not the ruling party (the BJP)!”
He further connected the initiative to the “systematic infiltration” of Indian institutions by foreign entities.
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Malviya also targeted Hungarian-born U.S. financier George Soros, who has been accused by right-wing figures globally of meddling in domestic politics through his Open Society Foundations.
He claimed,
“Once again, it is George Soros, a known associate of the Congress party and the Gandhis, whose shadow looms over our electoral process,”
Additionally, Malviya highlighted a contentious 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Election Commission of India and The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), an organization linked to Soros’s Open Society Foundation.
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