Donald Trump’s recent saber-rattling, including a threat to send the U.S. military into Nigeria to stop “horrible atrocities” against Christians, has been linked to billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) decision to end aid to the troubled African nation. This connection was highlighted during an MSNBC panel discussion on Friday morning.
Joe Scarborough, co-host of “Morning Joe,” called out Musk, noting that the tech billionaire is no longer just whispering in Trump’s ear but influencing key decisions directly. At the beginning of November, Trump posted a menacing message on Truth Social, stating:
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities. I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! WARNING: THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT BETTER MOVE FAST!”
In response, New York Times columnist Nick Kristof wrote a piece pointing out the irony in Trump’s threats. Kristof stated, “He [Trump] has expressed such outrage at attacks on Christians in Nigeria that he has threatened military intervention there, and the Pentagon has obligingly prepared plans for attack. Trump’s concern for Nigerians is welcome, but here’s the awkwardness: Trump’s aid cuts are killing far more Nigerian Christians than Islamic terrorists are.”
Using Kristof’s commentary as a springboard, Scarborough emphasized the warning they had issued earlier regarding the slashing of U.S. aid. He said, “Let’s underline what Nick Kristof has said here, and this is what we warned when Mr. Chainsaw-man was running around cutting U.S. aid and celebrating it: The number of deaths in Africa, in places like Nigeria, were going to be explosive.”
MSNBC contributor Eugene Robinson added context about the significance of Nigeria, saying, “Nigeria is the most populous country on the African continent, nearly 200 million people. I think this is a very substantial country that he’s talking about wading into somehow. It’s just—it’s a ridiculous idea.”
Robinson continued, “The much better idea, yes, is to restore the aid programs that really did save millions of lives. And again, for a pittance, for money that was returned to the United States in a million ways—not just through good will but through economic development and everything.”
Scarborough further stressed the longstanding benefits of U.S. aid: “This U.S. aid that we have been giving for years, we’ve done it because America has fed and freed more people on this planet than any other nation ever. But we also did it for our own self-interest by handing out aid. We got intel that helped us know what jihadists’ next move, what they were going to be. And now that’s cut off.”
He then sarcastically addressed Elon Musk directly: “Great job, Elon. Hope you enjoyed your moment with your chainsaw.”
Concluding, Scarborough called for a reversal of the aid cuts: “We need to get the aid flowing again to save lives and to get intel on the ground that will help us save more lives when Islamic terrorists want to strike. So stupid what they have done on the slashing of aid on so many levels.”
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-nigeria-2674295912/
