Bill Gates defends USAID’s work after meeting with Trump and White House chief of staff
WASHINGTON — Billionaire Bill Gates, a philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft, said he met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday to advocate for continuing foreign aid disbursements from the U.S.
WASHINGTON — Billionaire Bill Gates, a philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft, said he met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday to advocate for continuing foreign aid disbursements from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
"I went by the White House because there's a lot in this transition, what we keep, in terms of foreign aid, what we keep — it's all kind of up in the air," he told NBC’s "TODAY" show anchor Savannah Guthrie in an interview. "And I'm doing my best to make sure we keep the things that I think are very value-based."
Gates said he had a "brief meeting" with Trump and a "long meeting" with chief of staff Susie Wiles, whom he called "very thoughtful." He spoke to Guthrie at an event at George Washington University, where he was promoting his new book.
"I went through that 'Hey, I've been out in the field with USAID,'" said Gates, who co-launched the nonprofit Gates Foundation in 2000.
"It's unbelievable what an asset that is," he said, referring to USAID's operations around the world. "I know all the development agencies of all the countries, and this is the best of them."
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