USAID, the humanitarian agency, has long been a target of criticism that its aid programs masked nation-meddling and overspent American tax dollars abroad. Now Elon Musk has boosted that criticism.

One China expert told Newsweek that the USAID funding freeze had handed an "enormous gift" to Beijing's push to influence the Global South. Meanwhile, one Kremlin propagandist has said on Russian television that Moscow could exploit the gap left by USAID and project geopolitical power with a similar program.