{"id":1376,"date":"2026-08-08T18:49:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:49:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1376"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:49:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:49:46","slug":"trumps-foreign-aid-priority-investigating-crime-against-white-south-africans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1376","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Foreign Aid Priority? Investigating Crime Against White South Africans"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with <\/span><\/i>a donation<\/span><\/i> of any size.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Read more ICE and Data Centers Aren\u2019t New, But Face Growing Pushback as They Intertwine<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Since he returned to office, President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has upended foreign aid. It\u2019s labeled well-established, long-running programs as \u201cnot aligned with American interests\u201d and slashed their budgets. <\/p>\n

Still, the billions of taxpayer dollars Congress has allocated for foreign aid programs must be spent; lawmakers have insisted the government continue to fund humanitarian aid, global health and pro-democracy causes around the world. With most of the old programs now gone, however, we wanted to know: What is the Trump administration doing with that money now?<\/p>\n

Recently, we published our investigation that found one answer to that question in a little-known bureau of the State Department that has dramatically transformed under Trump. For decades, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, known as DRL, has supported human rights in some of the most oppressive countries in the world. Now, our reporting found, it\u2019s planning to direct funds to controversial groups supporting right-wing causes in Europe and elsewhere. <\/p>\n

Our full story lays out some of the groups the government has considered funding, which include a British free-speech organization that has fought against bans on \u201cgay conversion therapy\u201d and a British American think tank created this year to focus on \u201cexistential threats to Britain, to America, and to our shared Judeo-Christian civilisation.\u201d (Administration officials dropped that grant after significant pushback from Congress.) <\/p>\n

One proposed grant particularly caught our attention: Trump administration officials suggested funding research on crime against minority populations in South Africa. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear from sources we spoke with that the key targeted minority population in question is the white ethnic group known as Afrikaners. Afrikaners were responsible for creating the nation\u2019s infamous and brutal racially segregated apartheid system. Previously, DRL staff had been told to begin the process of awarding funds to a group called Lex Libertas, which was founded by a controversial figure who has called for Afrikaner self-governance. The group is currently fundraising to place 3,000 white crosses on the National Mall in remembrance of attacks on South African farmers.<\/p>\n

The proposed grant was later opened up to allow a broader set of invited groups to apply for $1 million of funding, though it is still intended for the same purpose, according to people with knowledge of the process. The State Department declined to say whether Lex Libertas will be among those invited to compete, citing ongoing deliberations, but said the Trump administration has serious concerns about the human rights situation in South Africa that need to be addressed. Lex Libertas did not respond to questions about the organization or the proposed grant.<\/p>\n

Former diplomats who have worked extensively on human rights told us they were shocked that the victimization of white South Africans would be prioritized over the serious issues elsewhere in the region. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s laughable to suggest that on the African continent, the prime issue of human rights concern is whites in South Africa,\u201d one former agency official said when we asked him about the grant. South Africa is plagued by violence, but research has found that white South African farmers are not victims of crime at higher rates than other groups.<\/p>\n

Experts also described the proposed grant to fund research into violence against Afrikaners as keeping with the Trump administration\u2019s overall stance toward South Africa.<\/p>\n

Read more New Mexico Court Fines Meta $567 Million for Harming Kids<\/a><\/p>\n

For decades, the U.S. relationship with the country has been symbolized by our massive support for HIV care, Mattie Webb, a professor at the Virginia Military Institute who studies South Africa and U.S. foreign policy, told us. <\/p>\n

Since Trump returned to office, there\u2019s been a stark shift as the administration has strengthened ties with borderline white nationalist groups that are considered fringe in South Africa. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe U.S. is very clearly shifting its priorities away from aid that would benefit far more people in South Africa to this narrow focus on the white minority,\u201d Webb said.<\/p>\n

In the last 18 months, Trump has argued there is a genocide of white South Africans and used claims that white people are subjected to disproportionate violence to justify cutting off U.S. funding for HIV treatment and research. And even as he\u2019s barred nearly all new refugees from the United States, he\u2019s welcomed white South Africans, fast-tracking their entry. <\/p>\n

There have long been tensions between South Africa and the U.S., former diplomats told us, but the aid the U.S. provided saved lives and helped sustain a working relationship that is vital to U.S. national security and economic interests. Now, by seeking to fund a movement antagonistic to the South African government, the U.S. risks driving a wedge between the two nations.<\/p>\n

Other grants also raised red flags for experts and lawmakers. Political appointees at the State Department are considering funding a British free-speech organization that has fought bans on discredited therapy practices that attempt to convert gay people to heterosexuality. That proposed $5 million grant would provide support for people facing \u201cdeplatforming\u201d and advocate against \u201crestrictive online safety and hate speech laws,\u201d according to a document we reviewed. (The organization\u2019s founder said it had \u201cneither applied for nor been awarded a grant from the US State Department or any other branch of the US Government\u201d but did not respond to our other questions.) And a call for proposals recently released by the bureau would fund research, conferences and cultural engagements in wealthy democracies to develop \u201ccivilizational self-confidence in Europe.\u201d <\/p>\n

Not all the proposed funding is directed to controversial groups, our reporting found. But even some of the grants slated to fund more traditional human rights projects skirt federal requirements for competitive bidding that are meant to deter waste, fraud and abuse. Instead, officials are trying to direct millions to handpicked organizations, according to sources and documents. <\/p>\n

In response to questions about our reporting, the State Department stressed that the process of awarding grants is ongoing and that multiple offices provide input, writing that \u201cprograms are still in active deliberation and receipt of a grant is not guaranteed to any organization that does not meet all requirement and standards for federal grants.\u201d <\/p>\n

We are continuing to report on foreign aid and the Trump administration\u2019s policies in South Africa. If you have tips or information we should know about either of these issues, please feel free to get in touch with us! Reach out via phone or Signal to Anna Maria Barry-Jester at 408-504-8131 or Sharon Lerner at 718-877-5236.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump Issues \u201cBirth Tourism\u201d Orders Following Birthright Citizenship SCOTUS Loss<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Other proposed grant recipients include a British organization fighting to keep gay conversion therapy legal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump\u2019s Foreign Aid Priority? Investigating Crime Against White South Africans - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1376\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump\u2019s Foreign Aid Priority? 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