You knew these segments were coming. The media was already harping on the hundreds of thousands or millions of people who would die from cuts to foreign aid and USAID. Yes, the political class cannot continue with the slush fund and money laundering operations anymore, so they throw these sorts of tantrums, which have become more entertaining than annoying, at least for me. Nothing shocks anymore. What is amusing is that these well-funded media operations and investigative units opted to produce this lengthy segment about how Trump is essentially killing women and girls in Afghanistan because of the cuts. Right, because Afghanistan was some prosperous trillion-dollar-plus economy that didn’t have terrorists running the country.
Oh, wait—they are a third-world trash heap with the Taliban running things, abusing and oppressing women like we didn’t see that coming when Joe Biden engaged in one of the most ignominious and shambolic retreats in American history. That didn’t stop CNN from pushing this shoddy piece about how Trump is killing Afghan civilians. I mean, the fact that the Taliban refused to be interviewed should’ve been a clue. Maybe it’s the whacko Islamic fundamentalists that are killing, you know, the women. The ones doing the Taliban-ing, but sure, let’s blame Trump (via CNN):
Yes CNN it is President Trump’s fault that girls in Afghanistan have limited education opportunities not the Taliban who you want us to continue to finance with USAID. pic.twitter.com/I8vURywRdf
— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) July 22, 2025
The recent termination of over $1.7 billion worth of American aid contracts supporting dozens of programs in Afghanistan – of which around $500 million had yet to be disbursed – is having a devastating impact on Afghan people. America’s cuts were quickly followed by cuts to overseas aid budgets by other countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
Afghanistan has received close to $8 billion in humanitarian funding over the past four years, according to the UN. Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, the US says it has contributed nearly half of that, mostly through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) – donations which many considered a moral duty, following two decades of American war.
But President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that US foreign spending should be closely aligned with his “America First” approach and, earlier this year, Elon Musk bragged about “feeding USAID into the wood chipper.” The agency officially closed its doors this month after canceling thousands of humanitarian programs across the world.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly stated that no one has died because USAID has been shuttered. “Foreign assistance programs that align with administration policies – and which advance American interests – will be administered by the State Department, where they will be delivered with more accountability, strategy, and efficiency,” he wrote in a Substack post this month.
According to the US Special Inspector for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), among the programs cut were those for emergency food assistance and maternal and child healthcare.
Though Rubio asserts that the US will continue to administer aid in a “more efficient” manner, most of these global contributions have not been reinstated.
Researchers from the Lancet medical journal estimate that more than 14 million people will die over the next five years because of these cuts. Nearly five million of those are expected to be children younger than 5.
[…]
The Taliban rejected multiple requests for an interview.
[…]
Reporting from Afghanistan comes with its challenges: not least, gaining permission from the ruling Taliban government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But on a recent trip to the country, CNN was able to see just how critical the collection of programs previously funded by USAID were for Afghan people, the vast majority of whom live in desperate poverty.
These include demining efforts; online and underground education programs for girls (under Taliban rules, females over 12 are still not permitted to attend school); skills-based work programs for women; agricultural development; cash and food handouts; and healthcare.
“It’s absolutely devastating,” said Samira Sayed Rahman, advocacy director for Save the Children Afghanistan, of the loss of US aid as she entered what was until just a few weeks ago a small, but functioning, American-funded clinic in Nangarhar province. All that remains now is a dusty delivery room and an empty waiting area. Whatever was left of the medicines for common conditions like malnutrition and sepsis has all been looted, she said.
Recommended
Again, I think the blame for the misery of the Afghan people centers on what’s happening in Kabul, not Washington. Also, weren’t these issues brought up numerous times since the Obama era about what would happen if the Taliban regained control of the country? I’m not saying it’s right—but this is hardly shocking. And blaming Trump for this is abjectly ridiculous. We know who’s to blame for the suffering—the Taliban, just as they were responsible before our 2001 invasion.
The nation is run by terrorists--what's so hard about this? The 'see no evil' affliction the media has succumbed to regarding radical Islamic terrorism does get most astounding daily.
Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
Please help us continue to expose their left-wing bias by reading news you can trust. Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member