From Moscow to Budapest, strongman leaders cheer as Trump and Musk shut down USAID, marking a retreat of US influence. Will China step into the vacuum?
The wrecking ball has hit USAID, and dictators around the world are throwing victory parties. With Trump and Musk dismantling America’s flagship foreign aid agency, the Kremlin, Viktor Orbán, Nayib Bukele, and a host of autocratic regimes are celebrating what they see as the end of US-backed “meddling.” Moscow wasted no time labeling USAID a “regime-change machine,” while Belarus, Nicaragua, and Venezuela are openly mocking Washington’s retreat from the global stage.
For years, USAID pumped billions into democracy-building, humanitarian aid, and pro-Western civil society groups. Now, with its funding slashed and its fate uncertain, China and Russia are poised to fill the gap. Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative already outspends USAID in Africa and Latin America, and with America pulling back, China’s influence will grow unchecked. Meanwhile, Moscow’s intelligence operations thrive where US-backed NGOs once stood.
The shockwaves extend beyond geopolitics. Millions in Uganda, Sudan, and Afghanistan rely on USAID for basic survival. With funding vanishing overnight, food shortages, disease outbreaks, and economic collapse are on the horizon. The Biden-era push to counter authoritarianism with democracy aid is being torn apart at lightning speed—exactly what Trump and Musk promised.
In Washington, even some Republicans are sounding the alarm. Senator Roger Wicker warns that gutting USAID hands China a strategic goldmine. The question now is: Does Trump care? With his America First doctrine back in full force, he’s betting that Americans won’t shed tears for lost influence abroad. But as China tightens its grip and autocrats flex their muscles, the cost of this retreat could be catastrophic.
