WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s well-known disdain for foreign aid is colliding with the imperatives of fighting the coronavirus pandemic, as his administration boasts about America’s generosity for countries in dire need while still generating confusion and anger on the global stage.
The U.S. has committed more than half a billion dollars in anti-virus aid for foreign countries since January — a sign that some administration officials recognize Trump’s “America First” policy can’t fully protect Americans from a highly infectious disease that knows no borders. And, they know that if the United States doesn’t help, arch-rivals like China and Russia will gladly step in to fill void, in part to advance their narrative that the era of U.S.-led Western leadership is over.