The White House stepped back after left-wing actor Richard Gere criticized the Trump administration for dismantling the wasteful USAID program, which for decades sent billions of US tax dollars to fund far-left programs and politicians abroad.
Gere recently spoke to The Associated Press during a press availability for season two of the Paramount+ detective series, AgencyAnd instead of talking about his TV series, he went on the offensive against Trump in many of these interviews.
As he often does, Gere once again took aim at Trump in his AP interview, where he criticized the president on immigration, Israel policy and USAID cuts.
As for USAID, Gere regretted its abolition, saying, “USAID was probably the purest thing America had done up to that time. It was a program to give gifts to people in need. They stopped it on the first day. It was madness. They didn’t even know what it meant, USAID. There are idiots around them who have the same ignorance about it.”
The White House did not let it pass without comment. The official White House rapid response account on Twitter tore down Gere’s comments.
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“It was a slush fund for radical left-wing activists to enrich themselves and undermine America’s interests.”
In fact, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the issue directly. Rubio pointed out that only a small portion of the money Americans put into USAID is spent to help those in need. Last May, Rubio revealed that only 12 cents of every USAID dollar actually helps someone in need. The rest went to administrators and leftist programs and politicians and activists abroad without helping anyone in need.
Rubio said, “At USAID, 12 cents of every dollar was reaching the recipient. That means for someone to get aid, we have to spend all the rest of the money to support this foreign aid industrial complex.”
“We’re going to find more efficient ways to deliver aid directly to people. It’s going to be directed by our regional bureaus. It’s going to sponsor programs that will make a difference. And it’s going to be part of our overall approach to foreign policy.”
Watch Gere’s AP interview below:
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