A new poll found that most Americans believe that much of the money the US sends overseas is stolen through corruption or wasted, while just over one in ten Americans thought the funds reach their intended target.
The poll by Public First for the Financial Times found that 60% of Americans thought US aid was “wasted on corruption or administration fees.” Only 12% of Americans believe US aid is well spent.
The poll comes as the Trump administration is attempting to eliminate USAID and move the agency’s remaining functions under the control of the State Department. Adviser to President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, posted on X earlier this month, “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.”
Musk and many people in the Trump camp who are advocating the abolishment of USAID argue the agency’s programs are often directed at promoting a left-wing agenda. USAID has also been used by Washington to facilitate regime change operations or prop up governments that comply with the White House’s demands.
Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, explained why many governments oppose USAID distributing assistance in their country. “Most governments don’t want USAID funds flowing into their countries because they understand where much of that money actually ends up.” His post on X continued. “While marketed as support for development, democracy, and human rights, the majority of these funds are funneled into opposition groups, NGOs with political agendas, and destabilizing movements.”
Sen. Chris Murphy discussed the more nefarious operations of USAID in an attempt to defend the agency. “USAID chases China all around the world, making sure that China doesn’t monopolize contracts for critical minerals and port infrastructure all around the world,” the senator said. “It supports freedom fighters everywhere in this world up until yesterday, delivering firewood to the brave Ukrainian defenders on the eastern front.”
Many Ukrainian and Russian outlets that are critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin almost instantly faced funding shortages after the aid from USAID was frozen. “The suspension of USAID has had a dramatic effect on both Ukrainian and Russian independent news outlets that relied on the grants to operate and produced work often critical of their governments,” the Washington Post reported last week.
