U2’s Bono Claims: „300,000 Dead After USAID Cuts”

Left-wing activist and U2 frontman Paul David Hewson—better known as „Bono”—made the ridiculous claim that the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) decision to scale back funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has resulted in 300,000 deaths.

„So, so just a recent report, it’s not proven, but the surveillance suggests 300,000 people have already died from just this cutoff, this hard cut of USAID. So, there’s food rotting in boats, in warehouses,” Bono told Joe Rogan on the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.

Bono continued, „There is this this this will will f*ck you off. This will not make you happy. No American will. But there is … I think it’s 50,000 tons of food that are stored in Djibouti, South Africa, Dubai, and wait for it, Houston, Texas. And that is rotting rather than going to Gaza, rather than going to Sudan, because the people who know the codes or for the warehouse are fired. They’re gone.”

„And so this I don’t know. I just it’s and what do you think? What, what is that? That’s not America, is it?” the Irish singer questioned.

Joe Rogan pushes back after Bono blames 300,000 deaths on DOGE cuts.

„[USAID] was a money laundering operation… there’s no oversight, no receipts. There is a lot of fraud, a lot of money laundering.”pic.twitter.com/3bdJ1vpKG1

— (news) DOGE (@DOGE__news) May 31, 2025

Rogan pushed back on Bono’s claims: The podcaster said global aid programs funded through USAID have done real good—like providing clean water, food, and medicine, however, there has also been massive fraud, money laundering, and a lack of oversight…

Here’s Rogan’s response to Bono:

„Well, they’re throwing the baby out with the bath water. Right. Right. This is the problem. The problem is for sure there have been a lot of organizations that do tremendous good all throughout the world. Also, for sure, it [USAID] was a money laundering operation. For sure there was no oversight. For sure. billions of dollars are missing. In fact, trillions that are unaccounted for were sent off into various they they don’t even know where because there are no receipts. The way Elon Musk described it, he said if any of this were done by a public company, the company would be delisted and the executives would be in prison. But in the United States, this is standard.

When Biden left office, when it was clear that Trump won in the 73 days, they spent $93 billion from the Department of Energy on just radical loans, just throwing money into places. And there’s no oversight, no receipts. Like the whole thing, there’s a lot of fraud, a lot of money laundering, but also we help the world.

And when you’re talking about making wells for people in the Congo to get fresh water, when you’re talking about food and medicine to places that don’t have access, like no way that should have been cut out and that should have been clear before they make these radical cuts. Like there’s got to be a way to keep aid and not have fraud and you can’t have you can’t say we’re going to kill everything so that there’s no fraud. But then you’re killing all the good and you’re doing it without letting anybody know it’s going to happen.

So no one’s it’s not like they had three years to prepare. Let’s build a new infrastructure. Let’s make sure that everything’s set up.

They wanted change and they want to change quickly. And due to the nature of American politics, they have about two years before the midterms, right?

So everything has to get done as quickly as possible. You have to show a GDP growth. You have to show that the economy is booming again under these ideas. Make America first, tariffs for the world, bring back American manufacturing, and this mad rush to do it all as quickly as possible while cutting out as much waste as possible. Yeah. But the ironic thing is even though Elon Musk has proposed all these things and the Doge committee has proposed all these things, they’ve made no cuts in terms of the budget.”

Watch

It is worth noting that Bono’s claim may be based on projections by Brooke Nichols, a mathematician and infectious disease professor at Boston University, who modeled an estimated 300,000 deaths, with over 200,000 of them being children. However, much like weather models, these projections are highly speculative and come with significant uncertainty.

For context, Bono is involved in several nonprofit and philanthropic initiatives focused on combating poverty and disease and promoting social justice.

His key nonprofit affiliations include

ONE Campaign

Co-founded by Bono in 2004, the ONE Campaign is an international, non-partisan, nonprofit organization advocating for investments to create economic opportunities and improve health in Africa. It utilizes data, grassroots activism, and political engagement to influence policy decisions aimed at ending extreme poverty and preventable diseases.

RED

Established in 2006 by Bono and Bobby Shriver, (RED) partners with iconic brands to raise awareness and funds to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Proceeds from (RED) products go directly to the Global Fund to support health programs in Africa.

DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa)

Founded in 2002, DATA aimed to raise awareness about Africa’s challenges related to debt, AIDS, and trade. The organization focused on influencing policy and public opinion in developed countries to support Africa’s development. In 2007, DATA merged with the ONE Campaign to consolidate efforts.

EDUN

In 2005, Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, launched EDUN, a fashion brand promoting fair trade and ethical practices in Africa. The initiative aimed to stimulate sustainable employment and growth in developing regions through the fashion industry.

The Rise Fund

Bono co-founded The Rise Fund in 2016, a global impact investing fund managed by TPG. The fund invests in companies that deliver measurable social and environmental impact alongside competitive financial returns.

Making sense of Bono’s claims—and his information war against DOGE—requires following the money. Specifically, the ONE Campaign, which he co-founded, receives major funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Bono’s comments mirrors Bill Gates’ recent anti-DOGE media blitz, as seen across corporate outlets:

• „Gates Is A Huge Liar”: Musk Hits Back After Bill Gates Claims DOGE 'Killing World’s Poorest Children’

Gates is a huge liar

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 8, 2025

Bill and Bono in 2006.

Bono and failed far-left presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Sigh.

SOME NEWS: Bono takes U2 on a break from Achtung Baby to perform “All I Want is You” and dedicates song to all women in world, on their crew, women experiencing hardship in world. Then he dedicates it to special guest in Sphere audience…”your First Lady, Jill Biden.” pic.twitter.com/CF4nGlYmYV

— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) March 3, 2024

Play the DC Swamp game, and get an award.

Bono receives his Presidential Medal of Freedom. pic.twitter.com/TISAgAzayZ

— bethandbono (@bethandbono) January 4, 2025

At the end of the day, only the grifters scream the loudest. Gates and Bono want the taxpayer-funded money spigot turned back on.