One of the most striking features of Donald Trump’s second administration is its willingness to trash decades of US soft power. The “America First” approach has little interest in winning or keeping friends, which it views mostly as freeloaders on US largesse. One demonstration is the threats of tariffs or force even against allies to coerce them into doing the administration’s bidding. Another is the suspension of billions of dollars of US foreign aid — and the assault on the agency that manages about two-thirds of the funds, USAID. This has thrown initiatives aimed at helping vulnerable people around the world into chaos, and is harming America’s own interests.
Trump quickly froze almost all US foreign aid for 90 days pending a review to stamp out “woke” spending and align it with his goals. Stop-work orders barred aid groups from using funding already received. Initiatives ranging from vaccination programmes to tackling malnutrition to mine clearance came to a halt. Some aid groups have been forced into mass lay-offs.
Emergency food provision and “life-saving” services were later exempted, though Pepfar, which provides antiretroviral drugs for more than 20mn people with HIV, and some other vital programmes, are still being disrupted. The president and his efficiency tsar Elon Musk then turned their sights on USAID (created by John F Kennedy but now run, says Trump, by “radical lunatics”) which is in limbo as it awaits a restructuring or potential abolition.