Trump names India instead of Brazil in post on US vote counting, draws online ridicule

US President Donald Trump is in the news worldwide once again over a slip. Attacking the American election process and delays in counting votes, he named India directly in place of the South American country Brazil.

Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social: "Today 125 million people voted in India's presidential election, and the results came the same day, as soon as voting ended. But in America, despite low turnout in Detroit, Philadelphia, California and other states, results take weeks to come. Delaying the count means rigging. America's voting system is extremely corrupt." The White House's official Rapid Response account also reshared the post, which spread the error further.

Trump actually meant to speak about the ongoing presidential election in Brazil. About 125 million voters cast their ballots in the first round of voting in Brazil on Sunday. In haste, Trump wrote India instead of Brazil. In India, the public does not directly elect the president as in the US or Brazil. Here the President is elected indirectly by MPs and MLAs, that is, elected representatives. Ignoring this basic fact has led to Trump being ridiculed across the world.

Social media users caught the mistake as soon as the post appeared. People made memes and graphics to troll Trump. Many users wrote that Trump was perhaps not getting enough sleep or was living in another world. Some Indian users reminded him that India is a parliamentary democracy and does not hold direct presidential elections.

The post has its background in the Brazilian presidential election. Flavio Bolsonaro, son of right-wing leader and former president Jair Bolsonaro, is in the race. Jair Bolsonaro is considered a very close friend of Donald Trump. He is serving a 27-year prison sentence on charges of trying to overturn the results of the last election through a military coup. Trump has repeatedly criticised the current Brazilian government over this action.

Flavio Bolsonaro put in a surprising performance in Sunday's first-round count. With 98.81 per cent of the votes counted, he had 47.24 per cent, while the left-leaning incumbent president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had 44.91 per cent. Neither crossed the 50 per cent mark, so the final vote of the runoff will be held on October 25.

The result is seen as a big jolt for President Lula da Silva, since pre-election estimates suggested he would win easily. After the heavy support for Bolsonaro's son, the world's attention is now on the October 25 contest. Lula is now trying to draw over voters of smaller parties, to stop right-wing rule from returning to the country. Trump wrote the post to praise the good showing of his friend's son, but the slip in the country's name shifted the focus of the story.