Overview

• During his May 30 appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Bono referenced a Boston University model projecting that USAID funding cuts may have led to 300,000 deaths, including 200,000 children.
• He described 50,000 tons of food rotting in warehouses from Djibouti to Houston after mass USAID layoffs severed distribution chains.
• Elon Musk, who stepped down from daily operations at the Department of Government Efficiency, posted on X that “zero people have died,” and conservative commentators echoed his denial.
• Joe Rogan acknowledged USAID’s role in global aid but criticized it as a “money-laundering operation” with “no oversight,” spotlighting broader concerns over waste and fraud.
• The Trump administration’s January order to halt most foreign aid and attempt to close USAID remains blocked by courts, while lawmakers and aid groups press for clarity on the cuts’ real-world impact.