MAGA would be furious if they knew how Trump was spending their tax dollars

U.S. President Donald Trump supporter at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) USA 2026 in Grapevine, Texas, U.S. March 28, 2026. REUTERS

U.S. President Donald Trump's interventionist foreign policy is drawing vehement criticism from some prominent figures in the MAGA movement, including former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson — both of whom believe is betraying the "America First" agenda he aggressively promoted in the past. But according to progressive Guardian columnist Arwa Mahdawi, there is something many MAGA voters are overlooking: Trump's use of U.S. tax dollars to help right-wing think tanks in other countries.

"Last month," Mahdawi explains in her column, "the Guardian reported that the U.S. State Department intends to grant $12m to conservative organizations in the UK — a move described by many critics as an attempt to influence foreign politics. Of that, $7m is going to a group called 878, co-founded by the former Conservative minister, now-TV host Jacob Rees-Mogg — whose net worth is estimated at more than £100m — that appears to have been incorporated in the UK in March."

Mahdawi continues, "The website describes it as a 'leading British and American think tank, dedicated to strengthening the civilizational partnership between the United Kingdom and the United States.' If millions in funding going to a new organization with vague goals sounds a bit weird, it's because it is. A former U.S. official told the Guardian that normal funding processes are being subverted so that money can go to Trump-aligned causes."

According to Mahdawi, "These are not isolated initiatives, but instead, point to the growing transnationalization of the hard right and a coordinated effort to make the MAGA movement global under the guise of saving western civilization."

Trump's support of far-right "populists" like former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and ex-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is no secret. But according to Mahdawi, Trump is not only endorsing foreign politicians — he is also using U.S. tax dollars to fund non-U.S. groups.

"The U.S. Embassy in London is also offering grants of up to $500,000 for 'public education' programs that foster a 'national conversation' about 'shared civilizational values' between the UK and U.S.," the Guardian columnist observes. "One recently departed U.S. State Department official told the Guardian that this seems to be an attempt to 'create UK-originated narratives to support MAGA propaganda.' Meanwhile, Lisa Smart, a Liberal Democrat MP, accused Trump's MAGA money of 'meddling in our democracy.'"

Mahdawi adds, "What does the average Trump voter, who was promised an America-First agenda, think about all this money going to 'public education' programs in the UK instead of all the underfunded public schools at home? The short answer is: they're not thinking about it at all."

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