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Biman Mukherji

Donald Trump’s proposal to give adult Americans US$5,000 if Republicans win November’s midterm elections has drawn an unusual accusation from India: that the US president is borrowing from the country’s welfare-heavy political playbook.
Speaking days after Trump floated the US$5,000 proposal on September 9, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar told an event held by India’s main opposition Congress party: “Trump is copying us.” Shivakumar argued that the pledge reflected the wider influence of Karnataka’s welfare model.
Political analysts and party leaders credit Karnataka’s targeted welfare promises – aimed at easing inflation, empowering women and supporting youth – as a defining factor behind Congress winning a decisive victory in the state in 2023.
To Indian observers, Trump’s conditional payout promise sounded familiar. Social media users compared it to pre-poll pledges often made by domestic politicians, posting memes and saying “freebies” had reached America’s shores.
Trump’s proposal comes as the US economy battles persistent inflation and rising interest rates, partly because of a long and costly war with Iran. But the US president has claimed the payouts would be possible because of the economy’s strength.
It is unclear how – or if – Trump’s proposal could be implemented. Some commentators see the move as a bid to win back voters who have drifted from the Republican Party because of the effects of the prolonged war with Iran.
“Trump has to find an alternative way to appeal to voters, especially those in his Maga base,” said Priyajit Debsarkar, a London-based independent political commentator writing on South Asia. He said such handouts had produced mixed results in India, where discerning voters knew what was in their larger interest.

Indian commentators described the staggering US$1 trillion-plus proposal as a classic populist manoeuvre to revive flagging popularity ahead of the midterms.
Harsh Ramaswamy, a political commentator, said welfare programmes in India and other developing nations, such as Brazil, were originally designed to address historic inequities in poorer communities.
“By making such a proposal, he is also accepting that it means America is becoming poorer,” Ramaswamy said.
He added that if democracy was to remain healthy, welfare initiatives should be offered by elected governments for targeted, needy families rather than dangled by political leaders in the run-up to polls. Ramaswamy also said support should ideally come in the form of essential supplies, such as food staples, rather than cash.
“When you offer money like this, people will be spoiled,” he said, warning that cash payouts risked being misspent on alcohol or illegal drugs.
Economists and other political observers have also voiced concerns about the potential effects on inflation and the national balance sheet, saying the proposal resembled a desperate political gambit.
Ramaswamy said that as a 250-year-old democracy, the US should set an example for younger democracies like India, which is 76 years old.
“American democracy was exemplified because of its performance and functioning. It is a sad thing that the spirit of American democracy is being murdered,” he said.
Trump had previously pledged to distribute payments of US$2,000 or more using savings from the Department of Government Efficiency and tariff revenues, though none of that materialised.
An opinion piece in The Times of India, one of the country’s leading daily newspapers, made a similar comparison: “From voter ID to $5,000 cheques: Trump goes desi, mimics India’s election toolkit.”
“US President Donald Trump may never admit it, but it’s self-evident,” the article read. “The self-proclaimed oldest democracy is beginning to borrow from [the] political toolkit of the world’s largest democracy.”
“It first reflected in Trump’s photo identification for voting. Now comes the promise of money.”
Voter identification
Trump has repeatedly pushed for mandatory photo identification and proof of citizenship in federal elections. Proponents argue these rules strengthened public confidence and election security, while critics say they were cumbersome and risked disenfranchising legitimate voters.
In an August 17 post on social media, Trump cited India’s voter identification system to advocate for the SAVE America Act: “India’s last Election had 646,000,000 Voters! Less than 1% voted by mail, and every single Voter had to have a VALID Photo Identity Document.”
The post followed what Trump described as a question from Indian Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on why US elections did not require photo identification.
Ramaswamy said citing India’s voter ID cards to push for a similar system in the US was not the right comparison. Given India’s large population, mandatory identification was needed to prevent confusion about voters’ identity, particularly among voters with similar names.
“We needed identification to map these people. You don’t need that in America,” he said.
Debsarkar said the proposals indicated a shift in the US political undercurrent since the last election cycle.


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Indian politicians and commentators accuse the US president of mimicking South Asia’s election playbook to woo voters ahead of the midterms


Indian politicians and commentators accuse the US president of mimicking South Asia’s election playbook to woo voters ahead of the midterms.


United States

Donald Trump

Trump taking notes from India? US$5,000 cash pitch draws ‘freebie’ comparisons

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Indian politicians and commentators accuse the US president of mimicking South Asia’s election playbook to woo voters ahead of the midterms

Indian politicians and commentators accuse the US president of mimicking South Asia’s election playbook to woo voters ahead of the midterms