Trump Renews Push for SAVE Act, Cites India’s Voter ID System

Trump points to India's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and India's photo-ID voting rules while urging Congress to pass the SAVE America Act.

First Published: August 18, 2026, 12:49 AM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald Trump renewed his call for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, citing India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and India’s photo-identification voting requirements.

Here is the full post on truthsocial: “Earlier this month, India’s Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, asked our Administration — How can you have Elections in the U.S. without a valid Photo ID? India’s last Election had 646 million Voters! Less than 1% voted by mail, and every single Voter had to have a VALID Photo Identity Document. We need to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, now! Trump” on August 17, 2026 at 7:57 PM ET.

This is Trump’s 4th message released today, and the last post was 5 minutes ago, and it is not part of a thread. On average, Trump produces 18 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The move fits a broader pattern in Trump’s recent messaging, with 164 of his 543 posts over the last 30 days classified as Elections posts.

President Donald J. Trump called for the passage of the SAVE America Act in WASHINGTON D.C.

Gyanesh Kumar is the Chief Election Commissioner of India, leading the nation’s Election Commission, according to eci.gov.in. Kumar said in June that India was leading the world’s major democracies in electoral transparency and that the country currently chairs International IDEA, according to thehindu. Trump cited remarks attributed to Kumar earlier this month regarding voter identification requirements while renewing his call for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which seeks to require proof of citizenship and voter identification in U.S. elections, according to livemint. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, more than 968 million people out of a population of 1.4 billion were eligible to vote, and 642 million cast ballots, according to livemint.