During his closing speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, former U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for allocating USD 18 million to assist India with its elections. Trump suggested that the U.S. should return to paper ballots and allow India to help with the election process, saying, “Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“18 million dollars for helping India with its elections. Why the hell? Why don’t we just go back to old paper ballots, and let them help us with their elections, right? Voter ID. Wouldn’t that be nice?” Trump remarked. “We’re giving money to India for elections. They don’t need money.”
Trump also took issue with what he described as India’s high tariffs on U.S. goods, accusing the country of taking advantage of the U.S. in trade relations. “They take advantage of us pretty good. One of the highest tariffed nations in the world. We try and sell something. They have a 200 percent tariff. And then we’re giving them a lot of money to help them with their election,” he added.
In response, India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, expressed concern over the allegations surrounding USAID’s funding of election-related activities in India. He specifically addressed claims that USD 21 million had been allocated for “voter turnout.” Jaishankar said, “Some information has been put out there by the Trump administration, and obviously, that is concerning… I think, as a government, we’re looking into it. My sense is that the facts will come out…USAID was allowed here in good faith, to do good faith activities; now, suggestions are being laid out from America that there are activities which are in bad faith. It’s worrisome, and if there’s something to it, then the country should know who the people are involved in it.”
Meanwhile, ahead of the U.S. elections, tech billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), also raised concerns about voting machines. Speaking at a town hall in Pennsylvania, Musk suggested that machines, such as those from Dominion, may have influenced election outcomes. Referring to losses in Philadelphia and Arizona, Musk said, “There’s always a sort of question of like, say, the Dominion voting machines. It is weird that you know, I think they’re used in Philadelphia and Maricopa County, but not in a lot of other places. Doesn’t that seem like a heck of a coincidence?” Musk called for states to “only do paper ballots, hand-counted.”