Donald Trump referred to Brazil's presidential election as India's in a late-night Truth Social post.
Flávio Bolsonaro finished first in Brazil's first round with 47.03% of valid votes, ahead of Lula's 45.16%.
Trump contrasted Brazil's rapid vote counting with the US system and alleged that voting in America is corrupt.
Late on Sunday night in Washington, a post about Brazil's presidential election took an unexpected turn. US President Donald Trump appeared to mistake Brazil for India, claiming that 125 million people had voted in the “first round of India’s Presidential Election” before using the speed of the count to attack the US electoral system.
Trump's post on Truth Social, published at 11:32pm on October 4, praised the rapid announcement of results but incorrectly attributed the election to India. He then contrasted it with vote counting in US cities and states, including Detroit and Philadelphia, and alleged that American elections were “CORRUPT!!!”
A Brazil Election Trump Called India
The election Trump was referring to was Brazil's, where voters had gone to the polls on Sunday to choose their next president. More than 159 million Brazilians were eligible to vote, with the country's electronic voting system allowing results to be counted rapidly after polling closed, The Washington Post reported.
There was another layer to Trump's mistake. India does not elect its president through a nationwide popular vote. The Indian president is chosen by an electoral college comprising elected members of Parliament and state legislatures. India's next presidential election is not due in 2026.
Brazil, meanwhile, had just produced a result that sent its presidential contest into a second round. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, finished first with 47.03% of the valid vote, while incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured 45.16%. Neither crossed the 50% threshold required for an outright victory, Reuters reported.
From Brazil's Ballot Boxes To Trump's Election Claim
Brazil's electronic voting system has long been central to the country's elections, with results traditionally emerging within hours of polls closing. The system was introduced in the 1990s and has repeatedly faced criticism from political opponents, including Jair Bolsonaro, although no significant fraud has been established.
Trump's post turned that efficiency into a comparison with the United States, where he claimed results in some cities and states can take weeks to “calculate”. His statement echoed his longstanding criticism of American elections, but offered no evidence for his claim that voting in the country is corrupt.
For Brazil, the more immediate question is now who will emerge from the October 25 runoff. Flávio Bolsonaro has the first-round lead; Lula remains in the race. And while the Brazilian ballots were counted within hours, the political contest they produced is only beginning.
