Elon Musk is catching heat for his part in the Donald Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He’s facing criticism for stopping some important money that goes to other countries to help them. This journalist named Nicholas Kristof calls him out on it, saying that people are getting hurt. He’s been to places like South Sudan and seen what’s happening with his eyes.
Kristof wrote in The New York Times that these decisions are bad news. For example, a hospital that helps women have babies, which the US government funded, had to close because of the money being cut off. Pregnant women in Sudan are in a terrible situation with no doctors to help them.
When he talked to MSNBC, he said, “Those women… are going to be bleeding to death in the dust there.”
Elon Musk is doing this because the Trump team wants to save money for the country, but some people think they’re not thinking about the big picture and the sad things that are happening to real people because of it.
Kristof, a seasoned journalist known for focusing on worldwide humanitarian concerns, went on a trip to South Sudan and Nairobi, Kenya. He wanted to see firsthand how cutting aid was affecting people. While at a small maternity clinic, he met local women who had no clue the place was about to close down. They were thanking the US for helping them out.
“They’re thanking America for its generosity. They’re saying that women are safe here now. A woman who was then in labor wants to name her baby after me,” Kristof shared.
But the truth was, things weren’t so rosy. That clinic, a lifeline for moms-to-be, was about to close its doors because of funding problems.
Nicholas Kristof talked about how important the work of USAID is in these regions. “American taxpayers have been doing that on a huge scale with USAID. And this was a kind of heroic thing that the US had done. But that just ended in January,” he explained.
Musk, known for pushing ahead with Trump’s efforts to cut costs, recently brushed off worries about pausing foreign aid. He posted on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “No one has died as a result of a brief pause to do a sanity check on foreign aid funding.”
No one has died as result of a brief pause to do a sanity check on foreign aid funding. No one.
Nor are these funding resumption actions due to pressure from K-Mart (I’m not promoting him to Target yet) Favs or some legacy news journalist. I give zero fucks what the legacy…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 3, 2025
But Kristof’s story from the heart of the situation tells a different tale. He’s seen with his own eyes that people in South Sudan are already suffering and dying because they’re missing out on life-saving medical care and food.
USAID cuts aren’t the first time Musk’s decisions have been questioned. His DOGE plan has been criticized for tearing apart important government projects without checking how much harm it might do to people needing help. Halting the money has hit programs that give out food, protect people from diseases with vaccines, and provide clean water in places that are already struggling.
These cuts don’t just affect Sudan. USAID has always been there to help people in really tough situations all over the world. They’re the ones who bring food and medical help and jump into action when disasters hit. Some are worried that if we stop giving them money, we’ll see a lot more people dying from things we could’ve prevented, especially in places that have seen a lot of fighting and don’t have much to begin with.
A 2023 report by the Center for Global Development shows that when USAID was there with its programs, the number of kids dying went down by 30% in those areas. Can you imagine? But if we take that help away, it’s like we’re looking at a future where we’re going backward in terms of keeping people healthy and safe everywhere.
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Dr. Emily Carter, an international relations professor at Georgetown University, says, “Foreign aid isn’t just charity—it’s a strategic investment in global stability.” It’s like we’re investing in keeping the world peaceful. But if we start cutting aid, other countries, like China, will come in to help instead. And that might change who has the say-so in global conversations.
Following the criticism, some Congresspeople are pushing to check up on the money USAID is getting. Elon Musk still doesn’t take back what he said. He wants to follow Donald Trump’s orders to spend less government money, even though it’s obvious that people are suffering a lot.
Kristof’s stories show that losing USAID help isn’t just some government thing; it’s a question of whether people live or die.
