Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Trump Says "U.S. Voting Is Corrupt," Slams Democratic Strongholds in Comparison With Brazil

Input
2026-10-06 01:22:05
Updated
2026-10-06 01:22:05
Donald Trump, president of the United States, campaigns at Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio, on the 3rd (local time). /Photo=Yonhap News Agency

[Financial News] U.S. President Donald Trump cited Brazil's presidential election, whose results were announced that day, and once again alleged ahead of the midterm elections that the U.S. election system had been manipulated, calling it "corrupt."
On the 4th (local time), President Trump began a post on the social media platform Truth Social by saying, "Today, 125 million people participated in the first round of Brazil's presidential election, and the results were announced on the same day immediately after the polls closed." He continued, "On the other hand, in numerous U.S. cities and states, including Detroit, Philadelphia and California, it often takes weeks to manipulate the results—or rather, to count them—even though far fewer people voted," adding, "Voting in the United States is corrupt."
All of the cities and states cited by President Trump have strong Democratic leanings.
Frequent delays in counting votes in the United States stem from the fact that elections are administered by state governments rather than the federal government. As a result, the timing and rules for counting early and mail-in ballots vary from one locality to another. In past elections, this led to the so-called "Red Mirage" phenomenon, in which the Republican candidate initially led before the Democratic candidate overtook them as mail-in ballots began to be counted in earnest. The phenomenon was particularly evident in battleground states such as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Michigan during the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost.
President Trump has continued to allege election fraud, citing these structural issues. He also pursued the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would have required voters to present identification at the polls and restricted mail-in voting, but the bill failed to pass Congress.
The latest remarks came amid concerns that the ruling Republican Party could lose control of Congress to the Democratic Party in the midterm elections. The prevailing view is that Democrats will regain a majority in the House, while the possibility of a Republican defeat in the Senate is also being discussed. Some interpret Trump's comments as an attempt to lay the groundwork in advance for refusing to accept the election results.
In the first round of Brazil's presidential election cited by President Trump, Flávio Bolsonaro, the Liberal Party (PL) candidate and son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, received 47.04%, while left-wing Workers' Party (PT) candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received 45.15%. Because no candidate won a majority, a runoff election will be held on the 25th.
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter