In brief
The dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (U.S.A.I.D.) by Elon Musk has garnered praise from foreign leaders in countries like Russia, Hungary, and El Salvador, who view the agency as a threat to their regimes.
When Elon Musk remarked he was “feeding U.S.A.I.D. into the wood chipper,” he struck a chord not only with supporters of President Trump’s “America First” agenda but also with authoritarian leaders worldwide. In Moscow, Dmitri A. Medvedev, a former Russian president, approved of the U.S. move, reflecting longstanding animosity towards U.S.A.I.D. operations, which Russia has long criticized. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban echoed similar sentiments. He took to Facebook to herald what he called the end of “globalist” organizations, with political directors close to him expressing their contentment with Musk’s approach. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele also cast aspersions on U.S. aid programs, accusing them of backing opposition forces and destabilizing movements within his country.As these leaders celebrate the scale-back of U.S. foreign aid, protests erupted in Washington, where demonstrators showed support for U.S.A.I.D. The agency has often been a critical platform for exposing government transgressions, which authoritarian regimes have found threatening. As reactions unfold globally, the implications of these changes in foreign aid policy remain deeply contentious.
