Obama and Bush Team Up in Rare Move Against Trump

In an extraordinary bipartisan rebuke, former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush have united to denounce President Donald Trump’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), calling the move a “colossal mistake” with potentially devastating global consequences.

The stunning joint message came as the long-standing humanitarian agency closed its doors for good on Monday, with its operations absorbed into a newly formed State Department bureau called “America First.” The restructuring, part of a radical overhaul led by Elon Musk’s controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), slashed USAID’s foreign aid contracts by 90 percent and decimated its workforce from over 10,000 to fewer than 300.

A Parting Blow

On USAID’s final day, Obama and Bush recorded farewell video messages to staff—an unusual show of unity between two former presidents from opposing parties.

“Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it’s a tragedy,” Obama said in remarks obtained by the Associated Press. “Because it’s some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world.” The former Democratic president added, “Your work has mattered and will matter for generations to come. Sooner or later, leaders on both sides of the aisle will realize how much you are needed.”

Bush, a Republican who championed USAID’s global health work during his presidency, was even more blunt. “Is it in our national interest that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is—and so do you,” he said, referring to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a cornerstone of his legacy.

“You’ve showed the great strength of America through your work,” Bush added. “And that is your good heart.”

Bono Weighs In—and a Grim Warning from The Lancet

U2 frontman and humanitarian Bono, a longtime USAID supporter, also delivered remarks at the farewell event—this time in the form of a poem:
“They called you crooks / When you were the best of us.”

But beyond the emotion and poetry, experts are sounding the alarm about the real-life consequences. A new study published in The Lancet warns that the USAID shutdown could trigger up to 14 million preventable deaths by 2030.

“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths—particularly among the most vulnerable—these cuts risk reversing decades of progress,” the report states. The study estimates that USAID programs had already saved over 91 million lives, many of them children in impoverished nations.

Trump’s Team Fires Back

The Trump White House wasted no time responding to the bipartisan blowback.

“America remains the most generous country in the world because President Trump has a humanitarian heart,” a White House spokesperson told The Daily Beast. “Partner countries want to be self-reliant in addressing the needs of their people. The President is ensuring that every dollar of taxpayer money serves the interests of American citizens.”

The official added: “This is not the end of aid—it’s the beginning of aid that puts America first.”

A Legacy Torn Down

Founded in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy, USAID has long served as the United States’ premier agency for international development and disaster response, providing billions in humanitarian aid across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It has helped fight diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS, supported education for girls, and provided emergency relief in war-torn regions and natural disaster zones.

With its closure, critics say the U.S. is not just walking away from foreign aid—but from a legacy of soft power and moral leadership.

“This isn’t reform,” a former senior USAID official who asked to remain anonymous told us. “It’s surrender. And the world will feel the loss.”