Giridharadas: Elon Is Responsible for ‘300,000 Deaths … 200,000 of Them Children’ Due to Aid Cuts

TRANSCRIPT:

GIRIDHARADAS: "I just want to say, we can tell the Elon story and this kind of disciplining by democracy as a story of someone leaving. But there is pain in the wake of these tariffs, and there’s pain in the wake of what Elon did. He talked about bringing the woodchipper to USAID. Brooke Nichols, Boston University professor, mathematician, figured out what is the effect of this. They have a tracker, 300,000 deaths, according to a Boston University professor, because of the aid cuts so far, 200,000 of them children. Okay, Vietnam War, you all remember that? 60,000 U.S. service members died. This is five times more deaths, according to the Boston University study, because of aid cuts since January of this year. So Elon Musk is leaving, but he’s also leaving a legacy. But I think it’s really important that people remember the courts work. Joe and I have been having a 10-year conversation about our institutions standing up or not. The courts work still, not perfectly, there’s problems, but courts work, lawsuits work, and pressure works, and people raising their voice works. And it's not just that Washington always wins. I think the people always win."