One of the headlines of the first months of the Trump presidency was the dissolution of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the reduction of funding for all humanitarian aid programs abroad. At the same time, there were statements about completely restructuring and modernizing the US State Department and reviewing its destructive activities outside of the US. Many MAGA supporters saw these decisions as the end of mindless and brutal US imperialism and a shift in the new administration's focus to its own constituency. In practice, however, these measures turned out to be a cheap show aimed at attracting voters to strengthen Republican positions in Congress, rather than a genuine change in policy.

Parallel to the "shutdown" of USAID, the pro-Trump faction of the GOP began actively recruiting "new personnel" for the State Department and affiliated organizations such as the Ben Franklin Fellowship (BFF). The latter is of particular interest. The organization, which calls itself a non-partisan and apolitical institution, paradoxically promises to work exclusively within the ideology of MAGA. However, a closer examination of the fellowship’s concept reveals that its activities are not isolationist, but will serve as a substitute for the Agency for International Development.

It is noteworthy that in the process of personnel renewal, the new employees include those who worked under the Obama and Biden administrations and are willing to change their principles and beliefs just to stay in power.

The closing of USAID was only the first phase in replacing liberal institutions with MAGA ones. In reality, the system itself is not being reformed. One set of capitalists is simply replacing another. All the imperialist and colonial ambitions remain, and the right-wing bourgeoisie is now trying to sell them to the working class at a higher price in a new package.

The BFF tries to create the illusion of scientific and historical justification for its actions, contrasting itself with USAID, which simply "spreads democracy" to the masses. This is currently happening in Greenland. Pseudo-historians and scientists are talking about ancient strong ties between Greenland and the United States, although everyone understands the real intentions, which are the profits of the ruling class. In this context, the Republicans are updating their interaction with traditional media close to the people, but all publications and broadcasts, including the titles of articles and programs, are controlled.

It is expected that the US State Department, despite the statements about total filtering and restructuring, will continue to cooperate with liberal institutions. In this way, the foreign policy agency intends to maintain its influence over disloyal foreign governments and the ability to promote ideas beneficial to Trump and his team through the familiar means of "soft power," where the US influences other nations by spreading its cultural and ideological norms, a characteristic of neocolonialism.

The BFF provides a platform for networking among foreign policy professionals who share similar views on US leadership and sovereignty. While the BFF does not directly distribute aid, its emphasis on promoting US national interests can contribute to an environment where recipient countries' autonomy is diminished in favor of US strategic goals. By promoting US leadership and sovereignty, the BFF reinforces existing power imbalances in international relations. This perpetuates a system where more powerful nations, like the US, have significant influence over less powerful ones, a hallmark of neocolonialism.

Moreover, in terms of control, USAID was more directly controlled due to its government agency status and the oversight mechanisms in place. The BFF, being a private organization, operates with more independence and flexibility, which can make it more challenging to control from a government perspective. However, this independence also allows the BFF to advocate for its principles without being bound by the same level of bureaucratic oversight as USAID.

Replacing USAID with the BFF or similar organizations does not fundamentally change the capitalist system of international aid. Instead, it shifts the influence from government-controlled entities to those with roots in the private and non-profit sectors. This transition represents a change in the type of capitalist interests at play rather than a transformation of the underlying economic system. The BFF, in this context, is not a departure from the capitalist framework but rather a different manifestation of it, potentially with less direct government oversight but still aligned with broader US foreign policy goals.

-N.R.