President Donald Trump has accused previous U.S. administrations of overseeing large-scale financial mismanagement in donations to various countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Expressing frustration over how taxpayer dollars were allocated to international programs, Trump criticized the expenditure of hundreds of billions on what he described as dubious contracts and initiatives.
Among the countries listed as recipients of these funds are Cambodia, Czechia, India, Kosovo, Liberia, Mali, Moldova, Mozambique, Nepal, Serbia, South Africa, and Uganda, among others.
Trump Unveils Findings at Mar-a-Lago
During a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Tuesday, Trump addressed the issue while signing three new presidential memoranda.
These directives focus on “radical transparency about wasteful spending,” “ensuring accountability for all agencies,” and “expanding access to in vitro fertilization (IVF)” to improve affordability and accessibility.
The president reiterated concerns about excessive government spending raised by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk.
“They are finding levels of fraud and waste and abuse I think nobody ever thought possible,” Trump stated, referencing the department’s ongoing investigations.
He further emphasized the speed of his administration’s reforms, declaring, “Incredible things are happening in our country. We’ve made more progress in three weeks than they made in four years, especially with respect to the reputation of our country. People are respecting us again.”
Musk’s Role and Questionable Expenditures
Trump was also pressed on Musk’s involvement in his administration, following a White House court filing that stated the billionaire entrepreneur lacks decision-making authority.
Defending Musk, Trump called him “a patriot” for his contributions.
The president then presented findings from DOGE, detailing cases of extreme irregularities in government payouts.
He claimed the agency had identified individuals aged between 100 and 249 years—some even as old as 360—still receiving Social Security benefits.
Providing specific examples of foreign expenditures, Trump read out figures, saying:
- “$520 million for a consultant on the environment. It’s called environmental, social, and governance investments in Africa. Somebody got $520 million for environmental studies.”
- “$25 million to promote biodiversity conservation and licit livelihoods by developing socially responsible behavior in Colombia. Wow, that’s nice—$25 million for something that nobody ever heard of.”
- “$40 million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants; $42 million for Johns Hopkins to research and drive social and behavioral change in Uganda. What about us?”
- “$70 million for a center at Purdue to research university-sourced, evidence-based solutions to develop mental challenges. These are massive numbers for things that nobody ever heard about.”
- “$10 million for voluntary medical male circumcisions in Mozambique… $10 million for circumcision in another country; $9.7 million for UC Berkeley to develop a cohort of Cambodian youths with enterprise-driven skills.”
- “$2.3 million for strengthening independent voices in Cambodia; $32 million to the Prague Civil Society Centre… wonder how much of that money came back to the people who approved it.”
- “$14 million for public procurement in Serbia; $486 million to the consortium for elections and political process strengthening, including $22 million for an inclusive and participatory political process in Moldova.”
- “$21 million for voter turnout in India; $20 million for fiscal federalism in Nepal. Listen to these numbers—this is all fraud. $19 million for biodiversity conservation in Nepal.”
- “$1.5 million for voter confidence in Liberia; $14 million for social cohesion in Mali; $2.5 million for inclusive democracy in South Africa; $47 million for improving learning outcomes in Asia.”
- “$2 million to develop sustainable recycling models to increase socio-economic cohesion among marginalized communities in Kosovo, Ashkali, and Egypt.”
Trump concluded by reiterating his belief that these expenditures represented systemic corruption within the U.S. government.
“We’re talking about hundreds of billions of dollars. I could read this all day long. We have a very corrupt country. And it’s a sad thing to say, but we’re figuring it out,“ he stated.