Under President Donald Trump, U.S. residents are being crushed by steep inflation and austerity while his administration rains cash — Americans’ tax dollars — on his political allies abroad.
A new report from The Guardian places that reality in stark relief. On Wednesday the outlet reported that the Trump administration is pushing to redirect more than $175 million authorized for human rights programs to right-wing causes in other nations.
With hours left before the funding expires, the Trump administration is pushing to direct more than $175m of the state department’s flagship human rights fund to a slate of awards that includes a huge $40m grant for an anti-communism fund, support for a group advancing white Afrikaner rights in South Africa, a campaign against Brazil’s supreme court and programs that would reward ideological allies in Europe who protect “western civilizational norms”.
Each of these priorities reeks of MAGA propaganda. Despite embracing communistic policies themselves, Trump and Republicans have sought to use the word “communist” as a slur to demonize liberals, so any effort to promote “anti-communism” should be viewed in a similar light.
Trump and the White House have echoed white supremacists with their false claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa. They have launched a crusade against Brazil for holding former leader Jair Bolsonaro accountable after a failed coup attempt. And the MAGA movement’s rhetoric about protecting “Western civilization” from immigration and diversity echoes racist propaganda from the 19th century.
Put another way, the Trump regime is effectively trying to commit mountains of U.S. tax dollars toward fomenting political agita abroad, all while the president claims the country can’t afford things like healthcare and childcare as he continues his costly and deadly war against Iran.
As I wrote in March, State Department Undersecretary Sarah Rogers has made it a priority to fund far-right groups in other countries. A State Department spokesperson told The Guardian that the grants were still under “active deliberation” and said the administration’s efforts in Europe were about shoring up “civilizational self-confidence and sovereignty from those who seek to undermine them.” (MS NOW has not independently confirmed The Guardian’s reporting.)
The Guardian also reported that Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., has put a partial hold on some of the grants using her power as ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“Congress appropriated money for the democracy fund on a bipartisan basis to support defenders of human rights, to assist victims of human rights violations and to instead promote the growth of democracy abroad,” Shaheen told The Guardian.
“The Trump administration’s proposals would use taxpayer funds to promote far-right organizations and programs in established democracies,” she added. “This is a waste of resources and undermines United States values and relations with democratic partners, including allies in Europe.”
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