Donald Trump calls USAID funds to India 'kickback scheme': 'Why is US caring about Indian turnout?'

US President Donald Trump (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

US President Donald Trump on Thursday again raked up the issue of alleged USAID funding to raise voter turnout in India, calling it a "kickback scheme".

During his speech to the Republican Governor’s Association in the capital Washington, Trump said: "$21 million for a voter turnout in India, why are we caring about Indian turnout, we got enough problems. We want our own turnout, don’t we? Can you imagine all that money going to India, I wonder what they think when they get it."

The US President called the funding a "kickback scheme".

“Now it’s a kickback scheme, they get it, they spend it, they kick it back to the people that sent it ... And I would say in many of these cases, anytime you have no idea what we’re talking about, that means there’s a kickback, because nobody has any idea what’s going on," Trump said.

HUGE! Donald Trump once again points to USAID funding for voter turnout in India calls a 'Kickback scheme.' "$21 million for voter turnout in India. Why are we caring about India turnout?" 4th June PM Modi escaped the Biggest conspiracy against his govt pic.twitter.com/ONPV9Eq1DX

Megh Updates (@MeghUpdates) February 21, 2025

He also spoke about USAID setting aside $29 million to "strengthen the political landscape of Bangladesh", adding that nobody knows what this means.

Trump added that US has enough problems of its own and his administration has terminated the funding.

Last week, the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by billionaire Elon Musk had announced a series of expenditure cuts, including $ 21 million allocated for "voter turnout in India." The DOGE in a post on X on Saturday last announced cancelling many programmes costing hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars.

Following DOGE's move, Trump lashed out at the Joe Biden administration’s decision to allocate the money to India for “voter turnout”, suspecting that they were trying to “get somebody else elected”.

The funding row has triggered a major political storm in India with BJP and Congress locking horns with each other.