Not sure what USAID has to do at all with this conversation, but I'll entertain it.

Leftists reject the notion that USAID is simply a wholesome charity. It was the US arm of soft power, and it was an imperialist institution. If you are truly interested in this "disingenuous" take, see the Jacobin article on it.

https://web.archive.org/web/20260410222517/https://jacobin.com/2025/02/usaid-digital-imperialism-trump-tech

It tied aid to the adoption of neoliberal policies, privatization, and the opening of markets to US corporations. A striking example is the case of Haiti, where USAID pushed for trade liberalization and other neoliberal policies in the 1980s, leading to the collapse of domestic rice production in favor of cheap, subsidized imports in the 1990s. The result was devastating: Haiti became dependent on foreign aid for basic food security, its agricultural sector gutted to serve US agribusiness interests.