Bono’s “300,000 Dead” USAID Cuts Claim Slammed by Joe Rogan and Elon Musk: ‘Liar/Idiot’

Bono, the iconic U2 frontman and longtime global activist, recently made a bold claim on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that the Trump administration’s cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) could be responsible for as many as 300,000 deaths. But his dramatic statement quickly met fierce pushback — not just from Rogan, but from Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, sparking a heated online debate.

Bono’s Stark Warning: Aid Cuts Are Deadly

During the podcast, Bono didn’t hold back. He warned listeners about “tens of thousands of tons” of food sitting and rotting in warehouses from places like Djibouti to Houston. He claimed that due to recent budget cuts, the people managing those warehouses had been fired, leaving vulnerable populations at risk.

“This will f— you off,” Bono said. “What is that? That’s not America, is it?”

He painted a grim picture of aid organizations struggling to keep food supplies flowing amid what he called disastrous cuts to foreign aid.

Joe Rogan Pushes Back: Corruption and Waste in USAID

But Rogan wasn’t buying it entirely.

“They’re throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” he argued, acknowledging that while some aid groups do valuable work, USAID has also been plagued by corruption and waste.

Rogan didn’t mince words:

“For sure, it was a money laundering operation. For sure, there was no oversight. … Trillions that are unaccounted for.”

Elon Musk’s Brutal Response: “Liar/Idiot”

The most viral moment came when Musk weighed in on X (formerly Twitter), reacting to a clip from the podcast with a blunt dismissal:

“He’s such a liar/idiot,” Musk wrote.

Musk, known for advocating major cuts and reforms to what he calls a bloated foreign aid system, has pushed for changes under his proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — a plan he championed before his recent exit from formal government advisory roles.

His sharp critique fired up conservatives and others online, who cheered calls for greater accountability in foreign aid spending.

Popular commentator “Catturd” echoed the sentiment:

“I agree 100% with Elon Musk that Bono is an idiot and a liar.”

The Numbers Behind Bono’s Claim: Projection vs. Reality

So, where does Bono’s 300,000 deaths figure actually come from?

It’s important to note this number isn’t a confirmed death toll. Instead, it’s a projection based on a model developed by Brooke Nichols, a mathematical health modeler at Boston University. Nichols’ model estimates what could potentially happen due to aid cuts, but it’s not tracking real-time deaths.

Nichols herself has stressed the uncertainties involved:

“The biggest uncertainties in all of these estimates are: 1) the extent to which countries and organizations have pivoted to mitigate this disaster (likely highly variable), and 2) which programs are actually still funded with funding actually flowing — and which aren’t.”

Some online critics pointed out that Bono himself admitted the figure is “not proven,” leading many to accuse him of exaggerating or misrepresenting the data.

The Bigger Picture: A Heated Debate on Foreign Aid

This exchange highlights the ongoing clash between advocates who see foreign aid as a vital lifeline and critics who view parts of it as inefficient, wasteful, or even corrupt. Bono’s passionate activism collides with Musk and Rogan’s demands for transparency and reform — sparking a debate that’s playing out on social media and beyond.

Whether you see it as a humanitarian crisis or a call for government accountability, one thing is clear: the conversation around USAID and foreign aid funding is far from over.