Lawrence: In siding with Russia’s dictator, Trump abandons U.S. position as ‘leader of the free world’

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Episode: Lawrence: In siding with Russia’s dictator, Trump abandons U.S. position as ‘leader of the free world’
Release Date: March 4, 2025

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I. Trump's Halting of Aid to Ukraine

Lawrence O'Donnell opens the episode by addressing a critical development: President Donald Trump has stopped aid to Ukraine, a move officially termed a "pause" by White House officials. O'Donnell scrutinizes this claim, drawing parallels to previous instances where a "pause" in humanitarian aid resulted in dire consequences.

• Key Points:

  • White House officials refer to the cessation of aid as a "pause," similar to earlier claims about pausing humanitarian aid to Sudan.
  • USAID officials were allegedly put on administrative leave after a memo revealed that the Trump administration had ceased efforts to restart funding, despite judicial orders.
  • The halted aid encompasses life-saving drugs and food essential for starving Ukrainians.
  • O'Donnell posits that Trump may never resume aid, undermining the U.S. position as the "leader of the free world."

• Notable Quote:

  "Donald Trump might never resume any form of aid to Ukraine."
  (00:45)

II. Government Officials' Response

A. Interview with Senator Mark Kelly

Senator Mark Kelly, a Democratic Senator from Arizona and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, discusses the ramifications of Trump's decision to pause aid.

• Key Points:

  • Kelly describes the decision as a demonstration of weakness, ultimately abandoning Ukraine during a critical time.
  • Emphasizes that without U.S. assistance, innocent Ukrainians will face increased casualties.
  • Questions the capacity of Europe to fill the aid gap, asserting that U.S. leadership is irreplaceable.
  • Highlights the bipartisan nature of support for USAID programs, making Trump's reversal a significant breach.

• Notable Quotes:

  "This was a colossal error. And if it is not corrected, I think it's going to haunt our country for decades."
  (08:53)

  "Ukraine is facing more missiles from Putin while our president is withdrawing support."
  (11:47)

III. Trump's Proposed Tariffs on Canada and Mexico

O'Donnell shifts focus to Trump's economic policies, specifically his threat to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, particularly targeting gasoline and diesel fuel.

• Key Points:
  • Such tariffs would drastically increase fuel prices in New England, where 80% of gasoline and diesel fuel is imported from Canada.
  • The auto industry would suffer, with potential price hikes of $8,000 to $9,000 on vehicles assembled in North America.
  • Describes these tariffs as unprecedented and economically damaging, violating existing trade agreements.

A. Interview with Senator Gary Peters

Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, a Democrat and top member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, criticizes Trump's tariff plans.

• Key Points:

  • Peters explains the integrated nature of the North American auto industry, making tariffs both economically irrational and destructive.
  • Highlights the seamless collaboration with Canada on homeland security, which Trump's actions jeopardize.
  • Argues that tariffs would undermine American consumers and workers, while benefiting overseas competitors.

• Notable Quotes:

  "Donald Trump is hurting folks, and he's particularly hurting my state of Michigan."
  (19:01)

  "This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever."
  (20:52)

IV. Cuts to USAID and Global Health Implications

O'Donnell discusses the broader implications of Trump's administration cutting funding to USAID, led by figures like Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

• Key Points:
  • USAID's reduction in aid leads to a significant increase in preventable diseases and malnutrition globally.
  • A memo from USAID's Acting Assistant Administrator of Global Health warns of severe consequences, including 17.9 million additional malaria cases and 32% increase in tuberculosis.
  • Emphasizes the reciprocal threat to U.S. national security, as diseases can cross borders in a globally connected world.

A. Interview with Ambassador Samantha Power

Ambassador Samantha Power, former USAID administrator and U.N. ambassador, elaborates on the critical role of USAID and the dire outcomes of its defunding.

• Key Points:

  • USAID has been pivotal in preventing disease outbreaks, providing life-saving services, and fostering global health initiatives.
  • The agency's work is heavily supported by bipartisan congressional funding, making Trump's cuts an affront to longstanding support.
  • Power underscores the interconnectedness of global health and U.S. security, arguing that neglecting international aid directly endangers American lives.

• Notable Quotes:

  "This is literally about feeding starving children tonight."
  (30:14)

  "This is the hollowing out of our democracy."
  (34:06)

V. FBI Leadership Changes under Trump

O'Donnell examines recent leadership upheavals within the FBI, particularly the resignation of James Dennehy, head of New York's FBI field office, following criticism of Trump's stance on the January 6 investigation.

A. Interview with Andrew Weissmann

Andrew Weissmann, former FBI general counsel and MSNBC legal analyst, discusses the implications of Dennehy's forced resignation.

• Key Points:

  • Dennehy's departure is indicative of a broader pattern of political interference within the FBI, undermining its integrity.
  • Raises concerns about the future recruitment and retention of top-tier professionals within the FBI.
  • Suggests that such actions contribute to the erosion of democratic institutions and the rule of law.

• Notable Quotes:

  "This is the hollowing out of our democracy."
  (40:27)

  "The FBI is such a treasured institution that among the many, many sins of Donald Trump is what he is doing to that agency."
  (41:52)

VI. Conclusion

Lawrence O'Donnell concludes the episode by highlighting the gravitas of Trump's policies, from halting international aid to undermining domestic industries and federal institutions. The episode underscores a perceived shift in America's global standing and the long-term consequences of current administrative actions.

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Key Takeaways:

• Trump's Policies Undermine U.S. Leadership: Halting aid to Ukraine and proposing damaging tariffs signal a departure from the U.S.'s role as a global leader.

• Economic and Humanitarian Consequences: Proposed tariffs threaten American consumers and the auto industry, while aid cuts endanger millions globally.

• Erosion of Democratic Institutions: Forced resignations within the FBI reflect growing political interference, posing a threat to institutional integrity and national security.

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This summary encapsulates the core discussions and insights from the episode, providing a comprehensive overview for those who have yet to listen.

Transcript

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[Lawrence O'Donnell]

Let's get up to speed.

We've got some breaking news right now.

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There's a lot happening here in Washington as Donald Trump's second term starts to take shape.

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[Lawrence O'Donnell]

Well, the real breaking news of the night is that Donald Trump has stopped aid to Ukraine. The unnamed White House officials who have leaked this story to NBC News, the Washington Post and other news organizations are using the word pause. Not stop. But that's the word they used when they claimed they paused the humanitarian aid being delivered to starving babies in Sudan, the food that was being delivered to children in the middle of a famine. They paused that that pause killed starving children and is continuing to kill starving children. Because the truth is, it was not a pause. A USAID official was immediately put on administrative leave when a memo emerged this weekend in which the official explained that even though a judge has ordered them to do it, the Trump administration has made no attempt at all to restart the funding and the machinery for that humanitarian aid at usaid, which includes what? Life saving drugs and food for people, children and adults who are starving to death. And so when the Trump White House team uses the word pause, we have reason to believe and Ukraine has reason to believe and the world has reason to believe that Donald Trump might never resume any form of aid to Ukraine. The Washington Post reports that that their White House source said, quote, the decision could be reversed if Zelensky demonstrates a good faith effort to participate in peace talks. That is exactly what President Zelensky demonstrated in the Oval Office on Friday when he was confronted with a very bad faith effort, first led by J.D. vance, then followed incoherently by Donald Trump to simply insult the president of Ukraine, much to the delight of the dictator who Donald Trump seems to think of as a comrade in arms.

[Donald Trump]

Let me tell you, Putin went through a hell of a lot with me. He went through a phony witch hunt where they used him and Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia, and he went through it. He was accused of all that stuff. The whole thing was a scam and he had to put up with that he was being accused of all that stuff.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

Wasn't a phony winch hunt. Yes, Vladimir Putin was accused of all that stuff because he did that stuff. Here is some of what Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin went through together.

[Donald Trump]

Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

And immediately after that, Russia, Vladimir Putin did release Hillary Clinton's emails. The Mueller investigation, which Donald Trump claims proved nothing, actually proved that the Russian government, led by Vladimir Putin did indeed do everything they possibly could, including the spread of lies online, to help elect Donald Trump President of the United States, which the Russian government did, did again last year and will always try to do for the candidate who they think will help Russia more than Ukraine. The first President of the United States to earn the title leader of the free World was Franklin Delano Roosevelt in World War II. When World War II began with Adolf Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939, which was the mirror image of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the United States army was the 17th largest army in the world. We were not ready for World War II. But by the time the United States entered World War II, President Roosevelt was in the middle of a military buildup that would make the United States the most powerful military force on the planet. President Roosevelt made the key decisions that won World War II in Europe and in the Pacific. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was opposed to President Roosevelt's plan for a massive military invasion on the beaches of France across the English Channel to drive Nazi Germany out of France. And so were some of the commanding generals, American generals who were serving President Roosevelt. But the President persisted with his strategy, winning Winston Churchill's support only at the last minute for the D Day invasion, for what turned out to be the decisive military operation of World War II in Europe. And while Franklin Roosevelt was planning the D Day invasion and other tactical victories In World War II, President Roosevelt was designing what would become the United Nations. The institution he hoped would would be the preserver of peace worldwide after the war. Franklin Roosevelt did not live long enough to see the opening of the United nations in 1946. And the term leader of the free world was not widely applied to American presidents until the Cold War era when the United States and the Soviet Union, led by a Russian dictator, were locked into a decades long standoff with nuclear weapons aimed at each other 24 hours a day. The free world was easily identifiable as the countries who elected their leaders in free and fair elections. The cruel dictatorships like the Soviet Union and China who had been our allies during World War II, represented the other side of the Cold War. Those adversarial positions held even after the Cold War thawed. But now Donald Trump, for the first time in American history, has become the president who is changing sides in the middle of a war. The last leader to do that, the last head of state to do that, was Adolf Hitler in World War II, when he suddenly and intemperately, to say the least, after conquering Poland and France and other countries, turned and attacked his ally, the Soviet Union. No other European country has ever done that. Which is why, after Donald Trump's incoherent, raging performance in the Oval Office on Friday, European leaders embraced President Zelensky in London this weekend, vowing to continue to support Ukraine against a murderous Russian dictator, war criminal in every way they can. While Donald Trump was yelling in the Oval Office Friday, the war criminal, Vladimir Putin, was firing missiles and drones into Ukraine all day long. Ukraine on Friday didn't fire a single shot across the Russian border into Russia, not one shot. And so the President of the United States is no longer the leader of the free world or even a defender of the free world. The free world is. Has rallied around the leader who, though struggling with a language barrier, tried to cut through Donald Trump's lies in the Oval Office on Friday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy might never be called the leader of the free world, but he is, without a doubt, the bravest leader in the free world. Leading off our discussion tonight is Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona. He is a member of the Senate Armed Services.

[Senator Gary Peters]

We get a lot of glare here.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

And the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senator, thank you very much for joining us tonight. I want to, first of all, get your reaction to what happened in the Oval Office on Friday.

[Senator Mark Kelly]

Well, I met with Zelensky before that. We had a great meeting. Cameras were out of the room. What I saw in the Oval Office was what feels like a setup and where Donald Trump and J.D. vance feel like they're demonstrating a certain amount of strength. What they really showed the American people and the rest of the world was weakness. Abandoning our ally at their most needed time. This war has gone on now for three years. It does need to end, but it doesn't need to end by the United States of America switching sides. That is a mistake. I don't think Donald Trump understands, or I don't even think he has the capacity to understand what he just did. But this was a colossal error. And if it is not corrected, I think it's going to haunt our country for decades.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

And also tonight's news that they are, as they put it, the Trump White House puts it, pausing all aid to Ukraine. What happens next?

[Senator Mark Kelly]

Well, what happens next is more Ukrainians die. That means more women, more children, more old people. They're not going to be able to fight off attacks from the Russians without the security assistance that we give them. I've been to Ukraine a couple times. I know JD Vance hasn't. Donald Trump hasn't. My colleagues on both sides of the aisle, many of us have. I met with folks in Patriot batteries who every single night are shooting down cruise missiles and ballistic missiles from the Russians. If they don't get help from us, those missiles get through. Putin targets schools and hospitals to try to intentionally kill civilians. This decision tonight by the White House means more innocent Ukrainians will die.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

Can Europe rally now to a point where it can replace, to some extent, the American aid?

[Senator Mark Kelly]

It's hard to replace us. You talked about how we're the leader of the free world. We have been since fdr. I think we've been even, even before that. And I don't think Donald Trump understands leadership. He doesn't understand FDR or Churchill. He doesn't understand history. Can the Europeans step up? It looks like they're going to try to, but without our leadership, without our assistance, this gets very, very hard for the Ukrainians. And by the way, it gets easy for Russia. This is what Russia wants. The Kremlin just today, Lawrence said that this was largely their vision. This is what they wanted. They now have Donald Trump, J.D. vance, and I guess to some extent, Elon Musk on their side.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

How many times have you heard President Zelensky say thank you?

[Senator Mark Kelly]

It seems like every other sentence he did on Friday in our meeting. He has a habit of saying thank you to the American people, thank you to Congress, thank you to this president, thank you to Joe Biden. I don't think I've ever met somebody that is more appreciative than Zelensky. I mean, he understands that how much help we are giving them. He gets it, and without it, his country doesn't survive. And if we don't get back in there and give them the assistance that they need, Russia is going to win this thing. And make no mistake, Putin wants to put back the Soviet Union, put it all back together, and he's going to. He'll pick his next target.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

Do you think there's any hope of Republican senators taking any action here?

[Senator Mark Kelly]

Well, Lisa Murkowski stood up and said, put out a strong statement the other day. I think there is some hope, however, especially after this election. Many of my Republican colleagues have unfortunately fallen in line and they will parrot whatever Donald Trump says. If he changes his opinion on something, if he switches sides in a conflict, many of them will just get in line right behind him. And that's really unfortunate. And the consequence of all this, Lawrence, is that as a country, we are less safe. As an individual here in the United States, you are less safe. Your family is less safe. Our future is less safe.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

Senator Mark Kelly, thank you very much for starting off our coverage tonight.

[Senator Mark Kelly]

Thank you.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

Coming up tomorrow night, Donald Trump could be delivering his speech to Congress after the greatest stock market collapse since COVID Or maybe even worse than that, because Donald Trump claims not to know what the stock market knows, which is that Trump tariffs are paid only by American consumers here in the United States. Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, whose state's auto industry would be hit hard by Trump tariffs, will join us next.

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[Lawrence O'Donnell]

Now is the time, so we're gonna.

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[Lawrence O'Donnell]

Here's something I didn't know until today. Thanks to my hometown newspaper, the Boston Globe. New England imports 80% of its gasoline and diesel fuel from Canada. So all that gasoline and diesel fuel that people in these six New England states use for their cars and trucks and boats is going to be more expensive tomorrow if, if Donald Trump actually goes through with the stupidest economic idea that has ever originated from a president of the United States. Massive tariffs on everything imported from Canada and Mexico with 10% tariffs on all fuel imported from Canada and Mexico. If Donald Trump does that, he will be violating the trade deal with Mexico and Canada that he proudly negotiated and signed into law the first time he was president, claiming at the time it was the greatest trade deal in history. That's the trade agreement we currently have with Canada and Mexico. I'll believe that Donald Trump will actually impose these crazy tariffs only after he's done it because they are so crazy. He has specialized in threatening tariffs that would dramatically raise prices in the United States and then stepping back from that threat at the very last minute, as he did a month ago. 94 year old Warren Buffett, the most respected American investor in history, said this weekend that tariffs are an act of war. And then he said, quote, the tooth fairy doesn't pay them. Warren Buffett hates to talk about Donald Trump and so could not be pulled into a more expansive discussion of the Trump tariffs. But the Wall Street Journal isn't shy about the subject with a headline in an editorial published tonight. As Rachel was saying earlier, the headline says Trump takes the dumbest tariff plunge. The Journal reports the Dow Jones Industrial average took a 650 point header after he announced that he'll hit Mexico and Canada on Tuesday with 25% tariffs. We've courted Mr. Trump's ire by calling the Mexico and Canada levies the dumbest in and we may have understated the point. We reported an analysis by the Anderson Economic Group that the 25% tariff will raise the cost of a full size SUV assembled in North America by $9,000 and a pickup truck by $8,000. Is this how the new Republican Party plans on helping working class voters? Michigan's Democratic Senator Gary Peters writes that the Trump tariffs would kneecap the big three automakers, slash union jobs for US Auto workers, and hold the door wide open to overseas competitors looking to dominate our markets. Joining us now is Democratic Senator Gary Peters of Michigan. He's the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He also serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Armed Services Commerce Committee. Senator, thank you very much for joining us tonight. I want to go to the details in your statement about the auto industry and especially your point about how it would help the overseas competitors trying to dominate our markets.

[Senator Gary Peters]

Well, we'll Lawrence because they're not going to be subjected to these tariffs. So actually this is just a direct attack on American companies, American workers. It will raise the prices for consumers. You mentioned one of those analysis, 9 to $10,000 increase. And if you just got to think about how this industry is just so integrated across the borders, take my home state of Michigan. Our largest trading partner is Canada. We have the busiest border crossing in North America, Detroit to Windsor, with another large border crossing up in Port Huron. And when you actually look at how those cars are manufactured, their parts across the border, they go back and forth. You can imagine the tariffs being cumulative as those parts are going back and forth in the manufacturing process. It is absolutely chaos for the industry. In fact, one of the leading CEOs said this would blow a big hole in the auto industry, in the American auto industry, while giving a pass to automakers in Asia and Europe. That's not standing up for American jobs. That's not standing up for American consumers. Donald Trump is hurting folks, and he's particularly hurting my state of Michigan. But this is not just a Michigan problem, because consumers will be hit all across the United States.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

So just to clarify this point, and it's part of what the Wall Street Journal calls so dumb about this, a Toyota shipped directly from Japan to Los Angeles. Nothing, nothing happens tomorrow to change the price of that vehicle. An American, an American car made by an American manufacturer that has moved back and forth across the Canadian border, ultimately made in the United States, though, that car, that pickup truck, that SUV, price goes up by 25%.

[Senator Gary Peters]

Yeah, yeah. That's why it's the dumbest thing you can imagine. And when you think about with Canadians, too, as a guy from Michigan here, this is our neighborhood. They are our friends. They are folks who are always standing by the United States. And to do this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. You know, the pretext is about border security. And as you mentioned, I'm the ranking member on homeland Security. And I can tell you that the work that Homeland Security in the United States does with our Canadian counterparts is extraordinary. We have ship riders, for example, Canadian officials that ride on U.S. coast Guard vessels in the Great Lakes. On the borders, we do the same thing. Our work is seamless. And yet Donald Trump is taking this action, which makes no sense. That in the sense we're going to hurt both consumers as well as workers in our country, while telling our closest friend that you can't trust us. You know, this is a time where Donald Trump is bending over backwards to do Putin's handiwork, and yet he's taking one of our closest allies and literally punching them in the gut and hurting American consumers and workers in the process. This makes no sense. It's why the Wall Street Journal was right to call it the dumbest plan ever.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

There are all sorts of details to northern border life that I'm now learning that I didn't know before, including today, that the state of Maine, for example, virtually 100% of its gasoline and diesel fuel comes from Canada. You have commercial fishermen in Maine who are tanking up those tanks with diesel fuel. That price is going to skyrocket on, not to mention the entire trucking industry in the state of Maine, private car ownership and commuting. All of that changes tomorrow if Donald Trump does this and there's an hour and a half left before it goes into effect. And as I say, it is so profoundly stupid, I can't imagine him actually doing it.

[Senator Gary Peters]

Well, let's hope not. You know, Michigan, same fuel. We've got basically petroleum products coming across refined in Detroit, going into cars in our state debate. It's going to raise the prices for folks immediately. And if we're worried about inflation, this is as inflationary as it gets and it makes no sense. And I certainly hope Donald Trump would realize that and not move forward.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

Senator Gary Peters, thank you very much for joining, joining us tonight. Thank you.

[Senator Gary Peters]

Thank you.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

And coming up, millions more malaria infections, hundreds of thousands more children paralyzed for life by polio, A million more children not treated, not treated for malnutrition, which often leads to death. That's the reality because Donald Trump and Elon Musk's cuts to the delivery of that kind of aid. And that's all according to a memo obtained from usaid. Samantha Power, who served as the USAID administrator in the Biden administration, joins us next.

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[Lawrence O'Donnell]

It is not news that Elon Musk lied. He does that every day on Twitter and elsewhere. But now we have the proof that Secretary of State Marco Rubio lied about the same thing. Elon Musk, who knows nothing about government operations but should know something about the deadly diseases in the continent of Africa where he was born and grew up, stupidly and with extreme cruelty, shut off the life saving humanitarian assistance provided by the United States Agency for International Development, which saves lives or used to save lives every day around the world, saving starving children suffering from famine, working to prevent or contain deadly transmissible diseases like Ebola, malaria and many others. In the worst joke Elon Musk has ever tried to tell, he said in the Oval Office that he made a mistake in shutting down funding for Ebola containment. He said, we have, for example, turned on funding for Ebola prevention and for HIV prevention. We are moving fast, so we all make mistakes, but we also fix the mistakes very quickly. He was lying. He didn't turn on anything. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio was lying when he said a week after Elon Musk shut down the United States Agency for International Development that they would immediately restart USAID's life saving humanitarian assistance. That did not happen, according to a brave Memo written by USAID's Acting Assistant Administrator of Global Health Nicholas Henrich, who apparently lost his job because he wrote this memo to Donald Trump's chosen operatives at usaid, Mark Lloyd and Tim Meisberger, who according to the memo, are doing everything they can to block life saving humanitarian assistance from saving a single life. Matthew Kavanaugh, the director of the Georgetown University center for Global Health Policy and Politics, told the New York Times that the memo makes it, quote, clear the Trump administration is well aware that it is violating court orders and not delivering life saving aid it claimed to be funding. Nicholas Enrich was placed on administrative leave after writing the memo to Donald Trump's operatives Mark Lloyd and Tim Meisberger, saying in its first sentence, the temporary pause on foreign aid and delays in approving life saving humanitarian assistance for global health will lead to increased death and disability, accelerate global disease spread, contribute to destabilizing fragile reasons regions and heightened security risks directly endangering American national security, economic stability and public health. The memo says that malaria cases will increase by 17.9 million, tuberculosis will increase by 32%, there will be an additional 200,000 cases of polio, a disease that was on the verge of being eliminated. 16 million pregnant women will not receive life saving services from USAID, 11 million newborn babies will not receive any care from USAID immediately after birth and 1 million children per year will get no treatment for severe acute malnutrition, which can lead to death or Brain damage. Nicholas Enrich's memo says without essential services such as antiretroviral treatments, malaria prevention, routine immunization and tuberculosis control, preventable diseases like hiv, aids, malaria, tuberculosis, measles, diphtheria, pertussis and others will surge, undoing years of progress. As outbreaks spread unchecked, the consequences will extend beyond borders, increasing the risk of infections reaching the US Straining health care systems and endangering American lives. In a globally connected world, outbreaks abroad don't stay overseas. Measles outbreaks in the US in the past decade, for example, have often been traced to imported cases as the disease was eliminated domestically. In 2023, the US saw its first locally acquired malaria cases in 20 years, likely due to travelers introducing the parasite into mosquito prone states like Florida and Texas. Joining us now is Samantha Power, who served as the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development in the Biden administration. She also served as ambassador to the United nations in the Obama administration. Ambassador Power, thank you very much for joining us tonight. And I don't think there's a story or an issue more urgent than this. This is literally about feeding starving children tonight.

It's devastating. And we should of course commend the sacrifice, the self sacrifice of the individuals still left at usaid. There are not many, but they continue every day even though the waiver process clearly does not produce meaningful waivers in the world that allow meaningful funding to flow. Individuals like Nicholas just keep every day trying to work the process, work the system, because what else can they do? They know the human consequences of giving up and actually conceding that this is all a sham.

You know, the memo brings it back to the United States. It brings it back to a domestic concern that this kind of neglect can in effect import diseases here. And, and obviously there are people who will only take an interest if you can trace it back to a risk in the United States. But I don't understand why it isn't enough for anyone in Washington, even in the Trump White House to say we have the ability to save the lives of starving children tonight. Why aren't we doing it?

Well, what's so kind of bizarre about the failure of members of Congress to step forward and Republicans in particular, is just how deep the bipartisan support for the lifesaving programs has been. USAID was the most earmarked, to use a technical Washington term, government agency. I think there is something like 95% of the resources that came to USAID came with, in a sense, an order from Congress that you have to spend it in global health this way you have to spend it in education this way, you have to do this in the democracy and governance space. The level of congressional bipartisan ownership of what USAID has done in the world, the number of congressional visits to see this work, to see these babies who receive, ready to use therapeutic food being brought back to life. Quite literally because of the work that USAID did out in the world with our partners, people know the good that this agency has done, both for reasons of compassion and just because we care and we are connected and because we can and because it is relatively inexpensive. And then also because of the links that we know there are back to the United States in a world that, where it's not the 18th century, you know, it's not the time of the founding of the United States, where we could, somebody could argue that we could live in isolation, that what happened over there would stay over there. So you're right that in global health I think there is a temptation to lean in to the health security consequences of letting these diseases run amok, of not doing routine immunization, of not doing Ebola prevention, of not smothering an outbreak of a disease that could easily come here. You would think so soon after Covid that that would be really compelling. But you would also think that innovation labs in Kansas and at Mississippi State University and in Florida and in Nebraska, all of which have been shut down in the area of agriculture. You know, innovations that can help American farmers as well as those hungry people out in Africa or those small scale farmers who rely on these innovations. You would think that that would motivate people. There's so many reasons that people can rally around this agenda. And instead this misinformation, these lies the traction they get because of the reach of the platform, of course, that Doge has through Elon Musk. It's just devastating to see both again, the compassionate work and the self interested work get crowded out by misinformation.

So one of the ugly truths of this is that unlike anyone else in the history of the federal government who's ever advanced any form of spending cuts, Elon Musk himself personally could pay for the entire budget of usaid, the entire budget, by himself, without missing that money at all. And easily, easily pay for all of the life saving work that USAID does, but he hasn't stepped up to do that. He says USAID isn't doing it right, but why doesn't he just step forward and show us how to do it right with his own billions? That of course will never happen. And they're trying to keep the concentration on anything but the life saving work that USAID does.

Yeah, I mean, many of the programs they are describing as justification for shutting down USAID and the kind of programming we've been talking about are certainly not programs I've ever seen in the world. They shut down the USAID website, so we can't go on to see whether or not they're even real programs. But you're absolutely right that they want to divert from the vast majority of USAID funding that goes to these life saving causes because that's inconvenient for them. They want to say that when a program has been shut down and somebody, a constituent from a particular state reaches into the White House or reaches into a red state Senate office and makes the case that this is going to cost lives, they want to claim that there's a waiver process. What is so heartbreaking is to see USAID officials in the building gathering this data, showing the good that can be done, working the waiver process and then again and again just being shut down by people who are just looking at the numbers and saying what good does it do? What difference does it make? And they just don't care about the human lives that are being affected, nor do they ultimately care about the US a month from now, a year from now, 10 years from now, and what those effects will be at home.

Ambassador Samantha Power, thank you for the life saving work you have done over the years in so many roles. And thank you very much for joining us tonight.

Thank you for continuing to cover this. Lawrence. Thank you.

Thank you. And coming up today, the head of New York City's FBI office was forced to resign just after criticizing Donald Trump's pursuit of FBI agents who investigated the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Andrew Weissman joins us next. The head of the FBI's New York field office who urged workers there to dig in following the Trump administration's purge of the FBI's senior leadership, was ousted on Monday, NBC News reported. New York's top FBI agent, James Dennehy, wrote in an email to staff, quote, late Friday, I was informed that I needed to put my retirement papers in today, which I just did. I was not given a reason for this decision. His departure came one month after Dennehy wrote a defiant email after the Trump administration targeted FBI agents who participated in the January 6 and the investigation of the January 6 attack on the Capitol. He wrote, today we find ourselves in the middle of a battle of our own as good people are being walked out of the FBI and others are being targeted because they did their jobs in accordance with the law and FBI policy. James Dennehy wrote in a letter last month, NBC News reports that Dennehy urged FBI agents in his farewell email to protect the bureau from political interference. Quote, As I leave today, I have an immense feeling of pride to have represented an office of professionals who will always do the right thing for the right reasons, who will always seek the truth while upholding the rule of law, who will always handle cases and evidence with an overabundance of caution and care for the innocent, the victims and the process first, and who will always remain independent. Joining us now is Andrew Weissman, former FBI general counsel and former chief of the Criminal Division in the Eastern District of New York. He's also an MSNBC legal analyst. Andrew, what does this forced resignation mean to the FBI and particularly the FBI operating in New York City?

[Andrew Weissmann]

Well, folks should understand that the head of the FBI here in New York is the head of the largest field office in the FBI FBI family. It is, you know, it's the area where all of the major cases, whether it's criminal, national security are undertaken. It is such an important position to the FBI. And what does this mean to the FBI? This, if you want to know what hollowing out of our democracy looks like, this is, is the same thing that we saw when Danielle Sassoon, the head of the Southern District of New York, U.S. attorney's office, also an incredibly important office to the Department of Justice, when she was forced out. These are people who I assume have incredible conservative credentials and are being forced out. It has nothing to do with the deep state. It has everything to do with wanting people who will not follow the law and the facts.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

So imagine a well functioning FBI with a new FBI director coming in who's not crazy like the current FBI director and a deputy director who's not crazy like the deputy director is just totally loony. What would a Agent Dennehy running the New York office mean to a director who was really trying to do the job correctly?

[Andrew Weissmann]

That is who you want on the battlefield. That is who you need to get the job done. You want the very finest and best people. One of the things that we have not heard with respect to any of the nominees who are now confirmed by Donald Trump is that these are the very best people with the very best credentials and that's who you want. One of the things that, you know, Lawrence, that you're talking about is if we ever get to the point where there is that new administration, it is going to be such a challenge to find people who are going to be willing to take on that risk, knowing that this is the kind of thing that can happen in the future, that you can be fired for just doing your job, for just complying with the Constitution by just following the facts wherever they lead. This really is, I just want to make it very clear, this is the hollowing out of our democracy.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

So the damage is generational. You have, let's say, 15 year olds out there, people, seniors in high school or thinking about possibly the FBI, they see this happen and they don't think any longer. There's no reason to think any longer that if I join the FBI and I do my work, I can make a career there because any president can come in now and get me fired for anything.

[Andrew Weissmann]

That is absolutely right. And remember, the people at the FBI, they are there for their career and if they thought every four years they could go through this. It is going to be so hard to continue to get the best and the brightest. And the FBI is such a treasured institution that among the many, many sins of Donald Trump is what he is doing to that agency and to all of our safety as a result.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

Andrew Weisman, thank you very much for joining us tonight.

[Andrew Weissmann]

You're welcome.

[Lawrence O'Donnell]

That is tonight's last word as President.

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