Trump cites Indian election that didn't happen to call U.S. electoral process ‘corrupt’

In an apparent faux pas, U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned India in a social media post to claim that the electoral process in the U.S. was “corrupt”, when there were no elections in India, and the post clearly appeared to be about the presidential election in Brazil. The message was later corrected.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday (October 4, 2026), Trump claimed that “125 million people voted in India’s Presidential elections and the results came out shortly after the vote closed”.

“Voting in America is CORRUPT,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the weeks taken for the counting of votes in elections in U.S. cities and states.

“125 Million People voted today in the first round of India’s Presidential Election. The results came out shortly after the vote closed, on the SAME DAY,” Mr. Trump said.

“In Detroit, Philadelphia, California, and numerous other U.S. Cities and States, the results, with much smaller numbers, will often take weeks to Rig, I mean, calculate. Voting in America is CORRUPT,” the U.S. president said.

The reference to India appeared to be a possible mix-up with Brazil. Brazil held the first round of its presidential election on Sunday, with 125.27 million valid votes recorded, according to the country's electoral authority.