Trump Mistakes Brazil For India, Says '125 Million' Voters In 'India's Presidential Election'

US President Donald Trump appeared to mistake Brazil for India in a Truth Social post on Monday, claiming that 125 million people had voted in the “first round” of “India’s Presidential Election”, a description that actually matches Brazil’s presidential election held a day earlier.

“125 Million People voted today in the first round of India’s Presidential Election,” Trump wrote, using the figure to compare the supposed Indian vote count with the US electoral system. He argued that election results in places such as Detroit, Philadelphia and California can take weeks to calculate despite involving fewer voters.

Trump ended the post by declaring, “Voting in America is CORRUPT!!!” and signed it “President DJT”. The post did not mention Brazil, but its timing and the figure of roughly 125 million voters closely correspond to Brazil’s October 4 presidential election.

Brazil held the first round of its presidential election on Sunday, with the country’s electoral authority reporting 125,272,513 valid votes. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro received 56,104,268 votes, or 47.03 per cent, while incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured 53,876,617 votes, or 45.16 per cent. Neither candidate crossed the required majority, setting up a runoff on October 25.

The result means Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, will face Lula in the second round. Brazil’s election authority confirmed that the two were the leading candidates after virtually all ballots had been counted.

Trump’s reference to an Indian presidential election was also incorrect because India does not elect its president through a direct nationwide popular vote. The Election Commission of India says the president is elected by an Electoral College comprising elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of the legislative assemblies of the states, as well as Delhi and Puducherry. The election uses proportional representation through the single transferable vote and secret ballot.

Trump appeared to use the Brazilian election as a comparison while criticising the US voting system, saying American results in some cities and states can take weeks to be “calculated”. He provided no evidence in the post for his claim that voting in America is “corrupt”.