US President Donald Trump on February 19, once again, asked why his administration needs to send $21 million to India for voter turnout and wondered if it was to “get someone else elected”.
"... 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 while addressing the FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami, Florida.
#WATCH | Miami, Florida | Addressing the FII PRIORITY Summit, US President Donald Trump says, "... 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 pic.twitter.com/oxmk6268oW
ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2025
Trump had previously too raised questions on the need to provide monetary support to India to increase voter turnout during elections. He had said that India has a growing economy and has a “lot of money” due to high taxes.
"Why are we giving $21 million to India? They got 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," Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on February 18.
His remarks came following the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) decision to cancel $21 million fund marked for 'Voter Turnout in India'.
On February 16, DOGE - led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk - posted a list of cancelled US taxpayer-funded initiatives with a mention of $21 million earmarked for "voter turnout in India".
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