Trump demands USAID shutdown, accuses agency of 'unprecedented corruption'

We are witnessing one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in US history,

said Power

THE CORRUPTION IS AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE. CLOSE IT DOWN!"

In a post on his Truth Social app, he claimed the agency

USAID IS DRIVING THE RADICAL LEFT CRAZY,

Trump wrote in his post

I don't know about you. But as an American taxpayer, I don't want my dollars going toward this crap. And I know the American people don't either. And that's exactly what Elon Musk has been tasked by President Trump to do. To get the fraud, waste and abuse out of the federal government."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters

These are lies coming from Russian media. I completely self-funded my humanitarian trip to Ukraine. There was no funding from USAID and certainly no payment of any kind. 100 percent false."

Ben Stiller, one of the actors named in the video, denied that his trip to Ukraine

USA ID may be the biggest scam ever perpetrated on the American people under the guise of doing good."

Musk and Trump Jr. shared the video reposted by the account I Meme Therefore I Am (@ImMeme0), with Trump Jr. captioning it

There are many programs across the country that are doing great things for children, and I believe we can replicate many of these programs overseas. This is why I am pleased to be working closely with USAID as I prepare for my first major International trip to Africa.”

When she announced her trip, Melania said

We know there’s a correlation between gender inequality and conflict. There’s tremendous amounts of research. There’s a reason today, the president signed WGDP as a national security presidential memorandum…It’s in our domestic security interests to empower women.”

Ivanka told ABC News at the time of WGDP’s launch

It was a nice opportunity to see the pyramids in person, which are truly a historical treasure,

she said

Cutting funding to these essential efforts sends the wrong signal to dictatorships and undermines the brave individuals fighting for freedom."

Thor Halvorssen, founder of the Human Rights Foundation

Smart move by Elon Musk, trying to plug USAID's deep throat. Let's hope the deep state doesn't swallow him whole."

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council stated

Your tax dollars should be spent on America or the government should just tax you less,

he wrote on X on Tuesday

It's a big organization in a huge government, and clearly there are lots of inefficiencies, plenty of programs that I'm sure any sensible American would find that we're spending too much money on or that shouldn't be continued,

Bremmer said

I know this is going to sound weird but I feel like I haven't even begun to unload on USAID and how dark it all goes,

Benz posted

All of these things have been in the mix for a long time,

said Joseph Uscinski, a professor at the University of Miami who studies conspiracy theories

But now many of those influencers have immense power, both financial and political,

Starbird said

So our U.S. tax dollars were used effectively to, in the end, kill Americans, which is insane,

Musk said of USAID in an X Space on Monday

Two narratives permeate the MAGA argument against USAID,

said Eric Curwin, Pyrra's chief technology officer

Benz runs the same playbook every time,

said Renee DiResta, an associate research professor at Georgetown University and author of a book about how fringe creators, including Benz, increasingly influence public opinion

If you ask me does an organization like USAID scream for reform, along with pretty much every part of the U.S. government, the answer is, of course, yes,

he continued