Trump Wants To Slash Funding For Global Food Aid. The UN’s Response Is Great
The outgoing director of the United Nations World Food Program, Ertharin Cousin, has just publicly condemned President Trump’s proposed budget cuts for the devastating effects it would have on the world’s hungry.
“The budget that has been suggested by the administration does not reflect the generosity of the American people. No one in America believes that ‘America First’ means that other people must die. I sincerely believe that no American wants to see images of starving babies” said Cousin to the Associated Press.
President Trump’s austere budget proposal takes a machete to every program not related to the military, especially to humanitarian aid. America is the largest contributor to the World Food Program, spending two billion dollars to help feed eighty million people a year.
Trump is proposing cutting WFP money in half while the world faces its worst food crisis since 1945, with famine ravaging the war-torn nation of South Sudan and threatening Somalia, Yemen, and Nigeria.
Unfortunately, it does appear that Trump’s “America First” policy means others will die. His callous disregard for human life outside of the United States is reflected in his determination to cut funding from critical programs like WFP in order to pour that money into the military and his border wall.
Cousin expressed her hope that Congress wouldn’t agree to pass such a budget. “However, I do not believe at this point that this Congress will pass legislation where babies begin to die. I don’t think the American people will allow it. And that is what will happen.”
Seeing as Congress very nearly just stripped health insurance from twenty-four million of their own citizens, it’s very clear that the well-being of the common folk is not a high priority for Trump or Congress.
The Republican values of greed and selfishness do not represent the values of the American people, and we must tirelessly pressure our elected representatives to protect our funding for the world’s hungry.
