New Delhi: After claiming that $21 million from USAID to India was meant to “get somebody else elected,” a remark the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) termed “deeply troubling,” US President Donald Trump on Friday (February 21) said the money was “going to my friend, Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi in India, for voter turnout.”
The opposition demanded that the government investigate and clarify Trump’s claim linking the USAID fund to the Prime Minister.
Trump’s latest comments came during the Governors Working Association meeting, where he spoke about spending cuts by his one-month-old administration.
Holding a paper in his hand, he said:
“I brought a list along that I thought I’d just read – some of the places when you mentioned DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency]. And these are the ones that I feel I can read,” he added.
He began by listing aid to Uganda, Mozambique, and Serbia before mentioning $486 million allocated to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS). Of this, he said, $22 million was given to Moldova.
Then, referring to India, he said:
“…and $21 million going to my friend, Prime Minister Modi in India, for voter turnout. We’re giving 21 million for voter turnout in India. What about us? I want vote to turnout too, Governor.”
This is the first time Trump has linked anyone’s name to the claim of $21 million in funding by USAID.
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Two days earlier, on February 19, he had also rattled off from this same list at the Saudi-backed Future Investment Initiative Institute priority summit in Miami, where he first mentioned that the money to India was “to get somebody else elected”.
“$486 million to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening, including $22 million for inclusion – inclusive and participatory political process in Moldova and $21 million for voter turnout in India. What do we need to spend $21 million for voter turnout in India? Wow, $21 million. I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. Wow, we ought to tell the Indian government, because when we hear that Russia spent about two dollars in our country, it was a big deal. Right? (Laughter.) They took – they took some Internet ads for $2,000. This is a total breakthrough: twenty-one million dollars for India elections,” Trump said.
The list was first posted by Elon Musk-led DOGE on its X account on February 16, in which the department declared the cancellation of financial support previously allocated to CEPPS.
The ruling BJP had immediately claimed that it was a validation of their allegations that foreign powers had tried to dislodge Modi during the general elections. In the 2024 parliamentary polls, the BJP returned to power but fell short of a majority in the Lok Sabha.
The Opposition had called for an investigation into the allegations by Trump, despite terming it as “typical nonsense” of the US president. “Even so, the Govt of India should bring out a White Paper at the earliest detailing USAID’s support to both governmental and non-governmental institutions in India over the decades,” wrote Congress general secretary in charge of media communications Jairam Ramesh on February 20.
USAID is very much in the news these days.
It was set up on November 3, 1961. Claims being made by the US President are typically nonsensical to say the least. Even so, the Govt of India should bring out a White Paper at the earliest detailing USAID’s support to both…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) February 20, 2025
In its first official response, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday that the government was aware of “information that has been put out by the US administration regarding certain USAID activities and funding.”
“These are obviously very deeply troubling. This has led to concerns about foreign interference in India’s internal affairs. Relevant departments and agencies are looking into this matter,” he said at the weekly media briefing. He added that it would be “premature to make a public comment at this stage.”
There has been no response so far from the Indian government on the latest statement from Trump that the fund was “going to my friend, Prime Minister Modi in India for voter turnout”.
While Trump had also stated, “we have to tell the Indian government” about the alleged motivation behind the USAID funding, ministry sources had also said on Friday it was too early to speculate whether Washington will be asked to clarify on these statements.
At the weekly briefing, Jaiswal was also asked multiple questions about an investigative report by The Indian Express published on Friday, which stated that Trump’s claim about $21 million in USAID funding to India was incorrect, as the money was actually allocated for Bangladesh.
Jaiswal stuck to his earlier stance and declined to engage with the IE article, which the Opposition has cited as proof that the BJP relied on false information to target its political rivals.
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“Look, on the issue of US aid, what I had to say has been conveyed to you, and it has been stated that there are many units in the Indian government that work with US aid. There are several ministries. So, all the ministries related to this and the agencies working are currently monitoring this issue. So when an update comes to us, we will share it with you,” he said.
The Washington Post published a report on Saturday stating that it had “found no evidence that $21 million was due to be spent for voter turnout in India or for any other purpose.”
A person familiar with CEPPS’ work told The Post, “We don’t know anything about elections in India because we have never been involved.” He added, “We were all shocked to see that claim from DOGE.”
The report also noted that while there is no record of a CEPPS programme in India matching DOGE’s description, CEPPS did have a $21 million USAID contract for Bangladesh. “It seems that they are conflating numbers from other programmes,” said a US official to The Post.
At a press conference in Delhi on Saturday, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera played a video clip of Donald Trump’s remarks.
“Donald Trump said today that I have given 21 million dollars to my friend Narendra Modi to increase voter turnout. But after Trump’s statement, there is silence all around. That is why we want to know from Narendra Modi where did these 21 million dollars go? Because Trump’s statement has proved that he had given $21 million to Modi to influence the elections and increase voter turnout,” he said, which he also posted on X.
डोनाल्ड ट्रंप ने आज कहा कि 21 मिलियन डॉलर मैंने अपने दोस्त नरेंद्र मोदी को वोटर टर्नआउट बढ़ाने के लिए दिए हैं।
लेकिन ट्रंप के इस बयान के बाद आज चारों तरफ चुप्पी है। इसलिए हम नरेंद्र मोदी से जानना चाहते हैं कि ये 21 मिलियन डॉलर कहां गए?
क्योंकि ट्रंप के बयान से साबित हो गया है… pic.twitter.com/JlD0yczwQC
— Congress (@INCIndia) February 22, 2025
He noted that while the BJP and sections of the media had previously used Trump’s remarks to target the opposition, there has been silence since his latest comments.
“This is a matter between two ‘friends’. I feel bad that one ‘friend’ has betrayed another.… but Modiji, you owe a response to the country. Did you or did you not take $21 million from US to influence the elections in India?” asked Khera.
The Congress asked whether the money was used to boost voter turnout numbers that favoured the ruling party and has been repeatedly raised by the opposition.
“When they talk about increasing turnout of voters, is it what you have been doing between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on polling day. Suddenly, you see a spike of 12 percent in voters there. We want a white paper wherein every penny, every cent taken by any polticial organsation or political individual needs to be mentioned. The country deserves to know,” he said.
