Former President Donald Trump and his team have adopted unconventional methods to encourage voters to support his re-election on November 5. Their tactics include engaging teams for door-to-door campaigning and Elon Musk’s America PAC, which has initiated a $1 million-a-day giveaway for registered voters who sign a petition in favor of the First and Second Amendments.
However, the giveaway has faced legal challenges due to potential violations of federal laws against vote-buying, prompting the Republican candidate to pivot to a different strategy. This approach, however, inadvertently led to humorous interactions on social media, particularly among Indian users, despite Vice President Kamala Harris’s mixed-race heritage that includes Indian roots.
On October 29, Trump tagged users on X (formerly Twitter) in a post related to voting in North Carolina. One of the users, @Trendulkar, turned out to be an Indian man residing in Goregaon, Mumbai, who humorously responded to Trump’s message in Hindi, stating, “Bhai, main Goregaon main rehta hoon,” or “Bro, I live in Goregaon.”
Indian netizens flooded the comments section of Trump’s post, joking about how someone in India could vote in a US election. This situation is particularly ironic, as many conservative commentators have previously accused Democrats of “voter importation scams.” Elon Musk, a prominent Trump supporter, has also suggested that Democrats are using “diabolically smart” strategies to increase migration and sway swing states in favor of the Harris-Walz campaign.
The mystery surrounding Trump’s tagging of an Indian user deepened, especially after a similar incident involving Alex Marr, who manages the SPFL Mediawatch account on X. He received a comparable shout-out from Trump, which he attributed to having liked one of Trump’s posts in the past. Marr described the experience as unusual, emphasizing how unpredictable interactions on Twitter have become since Musk’s takeover.
Earlier this month, users reported receiving personalized replies from Trump’s official account after liking his posts. One such message included reminders for voters in North Carolina to be prepared for the election, stating, “LIKE this post to get IMPORTANT election reminders in North Carolina.” Those who liked the post received automated responses thanking them and urging them to vote for Trump.
Despite the automated nature of these messages, they have effectively caught attention on the platform, showcasing Team Trump’s innovative approach to voter engagement in their re-election efforts.
