‘Wouldn’t That be Nice’: Did Trump Suggest India Should Help US with Its Elections?- wna24
Washington: Trump has suggested that India should help US with their election, over USAID funding to India for Elections. Speaking at Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday trump again raised question over USAID $18 Million funding to India, which is the fourth time in a week and the second time in a day that he has brought up the issue.
Addressing a gathering of conservatives, Trump questioned why the US was allocating funds to India for elections and even suggested that India could assist America in conducting its own electoral process.
“Why the hell? Why don’t we just go to old paper ballots and let them help us with their elections, right? Voter ID. Wouldn’t that be nice?” Trump remarked, emphasising that India does not require financial aid to conduct elections.
Trump also called for Ballot Paper Elections in United States. He suggested that why don’t US get to back old Paper Ballot after he recently won the US Presidential elections.
His remarks come amid growing debate in the US over election integrity, with several conservatives pushing for a shift back to paper ballots instead of electronic voting machines.
Shifting focus from elections, Trump also launched an attack on India’s trade policies, alleging that the country imposes high tariffs on American goods while benefiting from US financial assistance.
“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 said, criticising the trade imbalance between the two nations.
While Trump targeted election funding and trade policies, Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), stirred controversy by renewing claims about voting machines being used to rig elections. Speaking at a town hall in Pennsylvania, Musk alleged that Dominion voting machines were responsible for Republican losses in key battlegrounds like Philadelphia and Arizona.
“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,” Musk said, advocating for a return to paper ballots and hand-counted votes nationwide.