Former U.S. presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have once again found common ground \u2014 this time to condemn Donald Trump\u2019s dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In a joint appearance with U2 frontman and longtime humanitarian Bono, the two leaders voiced deep concern over the loss of programs they say were vital to America\u2019s global influence and moral leadership.<\/p>\n
In a recently released video, Bush and Obama praised outgoing USAID employees, whose efforts against AIDS and HIV in Africa have been credited with saving more than 25 million lives. Both former presidents framed Trump\u2019s decision not only as shortsighted policy but as a moral failure.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have shown the great strength of America through your efforts \u2014 and that is your compassionate spirit,\u201d Bush told staff. \u201cIs it in our national interest that 25 million individuals who would have died are now alive? I believe it is, and so do you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bush, who has largely refrained from publicly criticizing Trump since 2016, looked visibly emotional as he thanked the departing workers. He helped establish the President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) during his administration, a program still regarded as one of the most impactful humanitarian efforts in modern history.<\/p>\n
Obama followed with sharper words. \u201cDismantling USAID is a disgrace and a calamity,\u201d he said. \u201cIt erases some of the most essential work being done anywhere in the world. Eventually, leaders from both parties will realize how crucial you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their comments came after Trump, working with billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, formally shut down most of USAID\u2019s international operations earlier this year. Only a small skeleton crew remains as the agency\u2019s functions are absorbed by the State Department.<\/p>\n
Musk had publicly attacked the agency months earlier, calling it \u201ca viper\u2019s nest of radical-left Marxists who despise America.\u201d The Trump administration, citing years of waste and corruption, made USAID one of its first targets in its campaign to cut down what it described as bloated government bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
The New York Post reported that the formal transfer of USAID\u2019s functions to the State Department was completed this week. In the new structure, foreign assistance programs will be managed directly under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who insists the move is about efficiency \u2014 not abandonment.<\/p>\n
Rubio, announcing the change, pushed back against Bush and Obama\u2019s criticism. \u201cAside from creating a global NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War,\u201d he said. \u201cDevelopment goals have rarely been achieved, instability has often increased, and anti-American sentiment has grown stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went on to describe the shift as a necessary course correction. \u201cThis era of government-sanctioned inefficiency has come to an end,\u201d he declared. \u201cUnder the Trump administration, we\u2019re building a foreign aid strategy that puts American interests first.\u201d According to Rubio, the new policy will ensure \u201cgreater accountability, strategy, and measurable results.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Bush and Obama\u2019s rare show of unity resonated deeply with the international community and longtime aid workers. For many, it represented something larger than partisan politics \u2014 a defense of America\u2019s reputation as a global humanitarian leader.<\/p>\n
During their respective presidencies, both men had built on each other\u2019s global health initiatives. Bush\u2019s PEPFAR and Obama\u2019s expansion of USAID\u2019s educational and agricultural programs helped reshape perceptions of U.S. engagement abroad. Bono, who worked closely with both administrations, described USAID as \u201ca quiet army of compassion\u201d that saved lives without seeking credit.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerica\u2019s greatness was never just about power,\u201d Bono said in the video. \u201cIt was about generosity \u2014 about people like those in USAID who believed in helping others, even when nobody was watching.\u201d<\/p>\n
Critics of the cuts argue that eliminating USAID will have ripple effects far beyond humanitarian aid. Without the agency\u2019s infrastructure, programs supporting clean water, education, disaster response, and women\u2019s health in developing countries face collapse. Experts also warn that pulling back U.S. engagement in fragile regions could open the door to increased influence from rival powers like China and Russia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe irony,\u201d one former USAID regional director said, \u201cis that this was one of the few federal programs that delivered results \u2014 measurable lives saved, governments stabilized, communities rebuilt. To call that wasteful is to misunderstand what American leadership really means.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supporters of Trump\u2019s decision, however, argue that the agency had become politically entrenched and unaccountable. They claim millions of dollars were spent on projects with little transparency or direct benefit to U.S. citizens. Musk himself tweeted that consolidating USAID under the State Department would \u201cend decades of corruption and restore accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inside the agency, morale reportedly plummeted in the months leading up to the closure. Longtime employees described the final weeks as \u201cfuneral-like.\u201d One senior staffer said, \u201cWe weren\u2019t just losing jobs \u2014 we were losing the mission that defined us.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Bush and Obama, the issue goes beyond policy. Their collaboration \u2014 rare in today\u2019s political landscape \u2014 underscored a shared belief that America\u2019s role in the world depends not just on power, but on compassion. Both leaders framed global aid not as charity, but as strategy: a way to foster stability, reduce extremism, and strengthen alliances.<\/p>\n
Bush summed it up best: \u201cOur compassion isn\u2019t weakness. It\u2019s strength. It reflects who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
As USAID\u2019s operations wind down, its legacy remains in the millions of lives changed across Africa, Asia, and beyond. Hospitals built, children vaccinated, teachers trained \u2014 all under the quiet umbrella of American goodwill. Whether that spirit can survive inside a downsized bureaucracy remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
But for now, the sight of two former presidents \u2014 one Republican, one Democrat \u2014 standing together to defend it serves as a reminder of something rare: that beneath all the noise, there are still leaders who believe America\u2019s greatness lies not only in its might, but in its mercy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former U.S. presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have once again found common ground \u2014 this time to condemn Donald Trump\u2019s dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In a joint appearance with U2 frontman and longtime humanitarian Bono, the two leaders voiced deep concern over the loss of programs they…<\/p>\n