Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El‑Sayed used his Pod Save America interview to challenge the idea that American taxpayers are somehow obligated to keep foreign governments alive.
When Alex Wagner pressed him with, “So no funding to ensure the survival or future of a Jewish state?”
El‑Sayed pushed the premise right back, answering, “I turn it back around on you, Alex: Why is it our responsibility to ensure that?”
And people in Michigan feel that question in their bones, because they’re living in a state where basic needs aren’t met, public systems are collapsing, families are barely staying afloat, and Washington keeps shoveling billions overseas like it’s automatic.
The U.S. Isn’t Funding “A Few Allies.” The U.S. Is Funding a Whole Damn Global Network.
Here’s a non‑exhaustive list of countries receiving U.S. foreign aid, military financing, weapons packages, and “security cooperation”:
Israel – $3.8B
Jordan – $1.45–$1.65B
Egypt – $1.3B
Ukraine – tens of billions
Iraq – hundreds of millions
Afghanistan – billions over 20 years
Pakistan – hundreds of millions
Lebanon – hundreds of millions
Tunisia – hundreds of millions
Morocco – hundreds of millions
Kenya – over $1B
Ethiopia – over $1B
Nigeria – hundreds of millions
Somalia – hundreds of millions
South Sudan – hundreds of millions
Yemen – hundreds of millions
Bangladesh – hundreds of millions
Nepal – hundreds of millions
Philippines – hundreds of millions
Colombia – hundreds of millions
Haiti – hundreds of millions
Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador – hundreds of millions combined
Gulf States — the part nobody talks about
These aren’t “aid” in the traditional sense — they’re massive U.S. military support pipelines, weapons deals, training programs, and security guarantees worth billions:
Saudi Arabia
UAE
Qatar
Bahrain
Kuwait
These governments aren’t broke. They’re loaded. They buy U.S. weapons like candy. They get U.S. military protection. They get U.S. training. They get U.S. intelligence support. Meanwhile Americans can’t afford rent.
Jordan: a billion‑dollar “ally” with a monarchy sitting on luxury property
Jordan receives $1.45–$1.65 billion every single year under the current U.S. aid agreement. In FY2024, the actual number was even higher — about $1.82 billion once all programs were counted.
A massive chunk of that isn’t humanitarian. It’s direct cash transfers to the Jordanian government and military financing that U.S. taxpayers cover entirely. One recent year included an $845 million cash transfer straight to the Jordanian state budget and $425 million in U.S.-funded weapons and equipment.
Jordan’s population is around 11–12 million, which makes it one of the top per‑capita recipients of American taxpayer money on Earth.
Meanwhile:
The Pandora Papers documented over $100 million in luxury real‑estate purchases linked to King Abdullah — Malibu, London, Washington D.C., all held through offshore companies.
These properties were hidden behind shell companies while the monarchy publicly claimed financial strain and relied on U.S. aid to “maintain stability.”
So Americans are told Jordan needs billions to “stay stable,” while the king is buying beachfront mansions through shell companies.
How the fuck does that make sense?
Meanwhile, the U.S. Is Falling Apart
Homelessness
600,000+ people homeless
Tent cities everywhere
Families living in cars
Veterans sleeping under bridges
Kids doing homework in shelters
Child Poverty
Child poverty doubled after Congress let the expanded Child Tax Credit expire
Millions of kids lost food, housing, medical care
The U.S. has one of the highest child poverty rates in the developed world
Food Insecurity
44 million people food insecure
Food banks overwhelmed
Working families skipping meals
Kids relying on school lunches as their only real food
Paycheck‑to‑Paycheck
63% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck
One missed shift = disaster
One car repair = crisis
One rent increase = eviction
Health Care Bankruptcy
The U.S. has the most expensive health care system on Earth
Medical debt = #1 cause of bankruptcy
Over 100 million Americans carry medical debt
People ration insulin
People die because they can’t afford treatment
One emergency room visit can wipe out a family
Ambulance rides cost $1,000+
People avoid hospitals because they can’t afford to survive them
For anyone fighting ridiculous hospital bills, read this:
Child Hunger
Millions of kids rely on school meals
Summer = hunger spike
Congress refuses to fund universal school meals
Meanwhile billions go overseas
Higher Education
College costs are obscene
Students drown in debt
Kids join the military just to afford college
Recruiters target poor communities
The U.S. treats education like a luxury
No Social Safety Net
No universal health care
No universal childcare
No universal paid leave
No universal housing support
No universal school meals
No universal higher education
No universal elder care
No universal disability support
The U.S. basically tells its citizens: good luck, you’re on your own. But somehow there’s always money for foreign governments.
And Then There’s the Pentagon — the Biggest Money Vacuum on Earth
The U.S. military budget is over $1 trillion when you include:
DoD base budget
Overseas operations
Nuclear weapons
Intelligence agencies
Veterans Affairs
Homeland Security
Interest on past wars
The Pentagon fails audits, loses money, misplaces money, and still gets more money every year.
The U.S. spends more on its military than China + Russia + India + UK + Germany + France + Japan combined.
And what do Americans get?
No health care
No housing
No safety net
No affordable education
No functioning infrastructure
But plenty of bombs. Plenty of weapons. Plenty of foreign governments armed to the teeth. Plenty of dead brown babies in countries Americans couldn’t find on a map.
Michigan’s Senate Race Is Sitting Right on Top of This Rage
Michigan has lived through factory closures, poisoned water, rising costs, stagnant wages, broken schools, failing hospitals, and political abandonment. So when voters hear that Congress is sending billions to foreign governments — some corrupt, some wealthy, some sitting on luxury real estate — they react exactly how anyone would:
How the fuck does this make sense?
The Real Question El‑Sayed Raised
Not “Should Israel get funding?”
Not “Should Jordan get funding?”
Not “Should Egypt get funding?”
The question is: why is this automatically our job?
Why is the U.S. government more committed to foreign governments than to Detroit? Why does Congress move faster to fund the Jordanian monarchy than to fix school lunches? Why is foreign aid treated as mandatory while domestic poverty is treated as normal? Why does the Pentagon get a trillion dollars while Americans drown?
Again, I ask…how the fuck does this make any sense?
