Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Oct 5: US President Donald Trump appeared to mistakenly refer to Brazil as India while commenting on the South American country’s presidential election, claiming that 125 million people had voted in the “first round of India’s presidential election”.
Trump made the remarks in a post on Truth Social on Monday (Indian time), shortly after the first round of Brazil’s presidential election was held. India does not hold a direct presidential election in which citizens vote to elect the President.
In his post, Trump wrote: “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! 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!!! President DJT.”
The official White House Rapid Response account also reposted Trump’s post.
The post drew reactions on social media, with users in the comment section pointing out the apparent mix-up between Brazil and India.
Trump’s remarks came after Brazil held the first round of its presidential election. Right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro finished ahead of incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva but failed to secure more than 50 per cent of the votes required for an outright victory. According to Brazil’s electoral authorities, Bolsonaro received 47.03 per cent of the valid votes, while Lula secured 45.16 per cent, sending the contest to a run-off on October 25.
The result marked a strong first-round performance for Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The former president is serving a 27-year prison sentence after being convicted in connection with a failed attempt to overturn the previous election result through a military coup.
Lula will now seek to consolidate his existing support while reaching out to voters who backed candidates eliminated in the first round.
The incumbent president faces the challenge of preventing the right from gaining control of Brazil’s presidency in the October 25 run-off.