Trump on Lesotho: US wasting billions promoting LGBTQ in country nobody has ever heard of

Donald Trump, the president of the United States during his address to the joint US Congress on Tuesday described Lesotho a nation on the African continent as a country ‘nobody has ever heard of’.

Trump made reference to the country while speaking about the US ‘wasteful project uncovered by him and Elon Musk referring to the US aid programmes which  are “billions and billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse”.

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“Eight million dollars to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho,” Trump said, struggling with the pronunciation.

“Which nobody has ever heard of,” Trump added, as Republican lawmakers laughed and Vice President JD Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson grinned behind him.

Read also: 5 key highlights from Trump’s ‘State of the Union’ speech

Lesotho, a country completely encircled by South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world, with one in five adults living with HIV, and more infections per 100,000 people, which the United States has sought to address by providing medication and other social support, including raising awareness among sexual minorities who face stigma.

The United States has committed more than $630 million since 2006 to anti-HIV/AIDS efforts in Lesotho, according to the US embassy there.

The United States last year also signed a $300 million deal to promote health and crop production in Lesotho through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which awards US funding to developing countries that meet standards on democracy and good governance.

The Trump administration on returning to office has cancelled more than 90 percent of US foreign assistance, saying it is not in the US interest and that the money would better go to tax cuts.

Elon Musk, Trump has effectively shut down the US Agency for International Development.