US President Donald Trump once again mentioned the $29 million USAID fund granted to Bangladesh for strengthening the political landscape in the country.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbour, Maryland, on Saturday (22 February), Trump stated, “The $29 million fund was for strengthening the political landscape and help them out so that they can vote for a radical left communist…in Bangladesh.”
“You got to see who they support that you wouldn’t believe, yeah, you would believe it, nobody in this room would be in that group…”
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard’s Google news channelThe issue of the $29 million funding first came to light on 15 February. On that day, one of Trump’s key advisers, Elon Musk announced that USAID had cancelled funding for various projects in countries, including Bangladesh and India.
Then on 21 February, he said the $29 million USAID fund granted to Bangladesh for strengthening the political landscape went to a firm that nobody ever heard of.
“[They] got $29 million. They got a cheque. Can you imagine you have a little firm, you get $10,000 here, $10,000 there. And then we get $29 million from the United States government. They had two people working in that firm,” he said.
At the CPAC event, he took a victory lap of sorts before a large gathering of conservatives to celebrate his first month in office, a period marked by deep cuts to the federal bureaucracy and dust-ups with allies. Trump touted his accomplishments since coming into office on 20 January and criticised his political opponents, including former president Joe Biden, reports Reuters.
“Every single thing he touched turned to shit,” Trump said of his predecessor, eliciting a standing ovation from the crowd.
Referring to actions against USAID, Trump stated that the agency had significantly reduced its staff and its Washington office had been taken over.
He also criticised the USAID for allegedly allocating funds to interfere in India’s electoral process, questioning why American taxpayers’ money was being sent to the country.
President Trump alleged that India already benefits from high tariffs on American goods and does not require financial assistance for its elections.
“Eighteen million dollars for helping India with its elections. Why the hell? Why don’t we just go to old paper ballots and let them help us with our elections, right? Voter ID. Wouldn’t that be nice? We’re giving money to India for elections. They don’t need money,” Trump said.
