Trump's 'America First' Betrayed by Millions in US Tax Dollars Funding Rightwing European Thinktanks
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/arwa-mahdawi. "Millions of US tax dollars sent to rightwing European thinktanks. Did any Trump supporters vote for that? | Arwa Mahdawi | The Guardian." August 12, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
Trump shut down foreign aid programs claiming they wasted money that should stay in America, but now his administration is sending millions of tax dollars to fund right-wing political groups in Europe instead. The author argues this is a betrayal of the 'America first' promise, since this money is going toward spreading Trump-style politics abroad rather than helping struggling Americans at home, all while most Trump supporters have no idea this is happening.
Conclusion
The Trump administration's 'America first' agenda is a betrayal of its own supporters because it is funneling millions of US taxpayer dollars to rightwing European thinktanks and influence operations instead of addressing domestic needs.
Premises
- Trump shut down USAID by claiming it wasted taxpayer money on foreign aid that should instead benefit Americans at home.
- Despite this justification, the US state department is now granting millions of dollars to conservative organizations in the UK and Europe, such as $12m to UK groups including $7m to Jacob Rees-Mogg's '878' thinktank.
- These grants and funding calls use vague language about 'civilizational partnership' and 'shared Western heritage' that critics and former officials say is designed to obscure an attempt to influence foreign elections and politics.
- Officials and researchers describe this as bureaucratic meddling that subverts normal funding processes to support Maga-aligned causes and narratives abroad, drawing criticism from foreign leaders like Germany's chancellor and UK politicians.
- This funding is part of a broader coordinated strategy (evidenced by CPAC's international expansion, Musk's amplification of European far-right movements, and Noem's endorsement of a Polish candidate) to make Maga a global movement under the banner of saving 'western civilization.'
- Meanwhile, ordinary Trump voters are unaware of this spending because they are distracted by culture-war issues amplified by right-wing media, and they did not vote for their tax dollars to fund European political influence operations.
- This spending prioritizes a global ideological crusade over domestic priorities like underfunded public schools, contradicting the 'America first' promise Trump voters were sold.
Assumptions
- Trump voters would disapprove of this spending if they knew about it, because it contradicts their understanding of 'America first.'
- The vague language in grant descriptions is intentionally obscuring political influence operations rather than genuinely ambiguous but benign programming.
- Right-wing media's coverage priorities are a deliberate strategy to keep voters uninformed rather than simply reflecting audience interest.
- Government funding decisions reflect the will and interests of the administration's ideological allies rather than legitimate diplomatic or strategic considerations.
- The various examples (CPAC expansion, Musk's activity, Noem's endorsement, state department grants) are all part of one coordinated effort rather than loosely related, independent phenomena.