Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama joined U2 frontman Bono on Monday to console USAID employees and take some final shots at President Donald Trump after the agency was shut down over fraud and mismanagement.Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it\u2019s a tragedy,\u201d Obama said in a video message to outgoing staff, The New York Post reported. \u201cBecause it\u2019s some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
He called the move \u201ca colossal mistake\u201d and added, \u201cSooner or later, leaders on both sides of the aisle will realize how much you are needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bush, Obama, and Bono all appeared via videoconference to speak directly to USAID staff as the agency was officially shuttered following a federal probe into corruption and abuse. Media were not present, but clips from the event were reviewed by the Associated Press.<\/p>\n
USAID, founded under the Kennedy administration, was created to provide foreign economic aid. But earlier this year, it became one of the first targets of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which was established by President Trump to root out government waste. Then-DOGE head Elon Musk slammed the agency as \u201ca viper\u2019s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America.\u201d<\/p>\n
USAID was officially absorbed by the State Department on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
In a rare public rebuke, Bush, who has largely avoided criticizing Trump, said the closure ends a major piece of his presidency\u2014the AIDS and HIV relief initiative that is credited with saving 25 million lives around the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve showed the great strength of America through your work\u2014and that is your good heart,\u201d Bush told the staff. \u201cIs it in our national interests that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is, and so do you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bono read a poem he wrote to mark the end of the agency, claiming it would lead to widespread suffering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama joined U2 frontman Bono on Monday to console USAID employees and take some final shots at President Donald Trump… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n