'They have a lot more money, why are we giving $21 million?' Trump on USAID for 'voter turnout in India'
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been put in charge of overseeing workforce reduction across the government, and as part of that,?Musk?announced that he would shut down USAID, which is responsible for humanitarian efforts around the globe.
US President Donald Trump has defended the cancellation of USAID funding to various projects around the world, including $21 million funding for "voter turnout in India." Trump questioned the logic of the US paying American taxpayers' money to India, which is a country with a lot more money.
CREDIT: AP
'India has a lot more money'
"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. 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?" Trump asked.
#WATCH | US President Donald Trump says, "Why are we giving $21 million to India? They have 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. I have a lot of respect for India¡ pic.twitter.com/W26OEGEejT
¡ª ANI (@ANI) February 18, 2025
DOGE goes after USAID
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been put in charge of overseeing workforce reduction across the government, and as part of that, Musk announced that he would shut down USAID, which is responsible for humanitarian efforts around the globe.
DOGE had frozen funding for USAID and claimed that several of its foreign assistance programmes were unnecessary or excessive.
CREDIT: REUTERS
USAID funding to encourage voting in India
One such initiative was $21 million funding to encourage voter turnout in India, which also took many in the country by surprise, with questions being raised about who benefited from it and how the money was spent.
What Musk said about elections in India
It should be noted that Musk has been a fan of the election process in India and has appreciated how fast results are announced in the country.
CREDIT: PTI
¡°India counted 640 million votes in 1 day. California is still counting votes,¡± Musk had said in November 2024.
Musk also reposted a post celebrating India's efficiency, saying ¡°Meanwhile in India, where cheating isn¡¯t the primary goal of their elections."
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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