- In a new interview, Bill Gates criticized both Elon Musk and DOGE.
- The Microsoft cofounder said that DOGE is “geographically illiterate.”
- He said that Musk was “involved in the deaths of the world’s poorest children” by cutting USAID.
Bill Gates sharply criticized Elon Musk in an interview with The New York Times published on Thursday, citing the Tesla cofounder’s role in reducing foreign aid as part of his Department of Government Efficiency program.
The Microsoft cofounder described the cuts made to foreign aid, particularly programs administered by the now-defunct US Agency for International Development, as “stunning.”
“He is the one who cut the USAID budget. He threw it in the wood chipper because he didn’t attend a party that weekend,” Gates told the Times of Musk. “The world’s richest man has been involved in the deaths of the world’s poorest children.”
Gates also mentioned an incident early in President Donald Trump’s tenure in which administration officials claimed that the US was sending condoms to Gaza through foreign aid. In reality, the United States had provided contraception to a province in Mozambique, an African country.
“They cut funding for Mozambique’s Gaza Province. “That is really for drugs, so mothers don’t give their babies HIV,” Gates explained. “But the people doing the cutting are so geographically illiterate that they believe it’s Gaza and condoms. Will they go meet the babies who contracted HIV because the money was cut? “Probably not.”
Gates made the remarks while discussing his plans to give away the rest of his wealth over the next two decades before closing his foundation in 2045.
The Gates Foundation has made significant investments in global public health initiatives, with a focus on childhood diseases.
This is not the first time Gates has criticized Musk, or vice versa.
Gates claims Musk has destabilized foreign politics by supporting right-wing causes in the United Kingdom and Germany. He also stated that, while he believes Tesla is having a positive environmental impact, he wishes Musk would be more vocal about the climate crisis.
Musk, in turn, claims that Gates has a “limited” understanding of artificial intelligence.
Musk, DOGE, Tesla, and the White House did not respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.
