Bush and Obama Join Bono in Condemning Trump’s Shutdown of USAID
In a rare show of bipartisan unity, former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama joined U2 frontman Bono to speak out against the Trump administration’s decision to close the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
During a heartfelt virtual farewell event, the three praised USAID’s six-decade legacy of humanitarian work, calling its closure a “tragic and shortsighted mistake.”
Obama described the move as “a colossal error,” stressing that USAID represented “the best of American values — compassion, leadership, and service.”
Bush, whose landmark HIV/AIDS initiative through USAID saved millions of lives worldwide, said the agency showcased “the strength of America’s good heart.”
Bono, visibly emotional, honored the departing staff with a poem, saying, “They called you crooks when you were the best of us.”
The rock icon warned that dismantling USAID could lead to “needless suffering in places already struggling for hope.”
The decision came after investigations into alleged inefficiencies and misuse of funds, leading to USAID’s functions being absorbed by the State Department.
Supporters of the move, including officials close to President Trump, claim it will make foreign aid more efficient and aligned with U.S. interests.
Critics, however, argue that it undermines decades of progress in global health, poverty reduction, and disaster relief.
For Bush and Obama, the closure marks the end of an era of bipartisan compassion. Both leaders urged Americans not to lose sight of the nation’s moral responsibility to help others.
As Bono put it, “The world still needs America’s light — not less of it.”
