Fmr. USAID Deputy Administrator Decries ‘Elon Musk-Led Mafia Takeover’: ‘We‘re Shooting Ourselves in the Foot’

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:
Amanpour: “First, tell me why you think this is a tragedy.”

KUNDER: “Think there are two issues being battled in Washington right now. The first question is, does the United States of America want to have a robust foreign aid program around the world? And the second issue is if we want to change it, what‘s the right way to change it? I‘m actually most as an American citizen, I‘m most concerned about the second part of that because unlike the kind of orderly transitions we have had in previous presidential administrations, democratic or Republican, what we have now is this insane. Elon Musk led mafia takeover where patriotic American citizens who work for usaid in some of the most dangerous places in the world, are being stripped of their job and insulted by the president of the United States. While we‘re shooting ourselves in the foot from a geo strategic point of view.”

Amanpour: “And that for you is the tragedy?”

KUNDER: “Because, look, I‘ve watched these hearings where various Republican congressmen and by the way, I‘m a Republican political appointee myself. I‘m a Republican voter, and I understand national security is the primary reason why we have the U.S. agency for international development. I served in the United States marine corps. So I‘m all in favor of supporting America‘s strategic objectives around the world. And but that‘s what usaid does. It works with our soldiers and diplomats around the world to make sure that people understand that America cares about them. And if they have a chance to feed their children, get a decent job, they‘re less likely to join the extremist organizations that want to attack the United States. When John Kennedy started usaid, the battle was against global communism. Today, the battle is against extremist ideas around the world and a rising China. And I guarantee you that they—“