In addition i'd also suggest looking at deep roots of why half the country is cheering it up. They don't want their country to go down the drain. Then why? It was pretty illustrative how MAGA was cheering the stopping of condoms money to Kenya in the Trump's speech. It looked like a caricature example of the government waste. Well, condoms there is one of the most effective ways to slow down HIV spreading. I'd bet MAGA wouldn't want more people there to get HIV. I'd bet MAGA just didn't know it. To me the "[not]know" is the root keyword in all that destruction happening now.

I think you drastically underestimate people's hatred. MAGA do indeed want for more people in Kenya to get AIDS.

You can't be serious, right? How does someone come to believe nonsense like this?

I was in a Discord recently where a news event came up where the parents were deported while taking their child (citizen) to get cancer treatment. Many people said things like "good, why is that illegal taking our hospital money". Go talk to some of these people, they are as out there as what the GP described.

I think it’s less that they “WANT” more people to get HIV but instead they do know that doing this type of thing will cause more cases and they’re fine with it because “gods will” and a bigger plan and all that.

Even this is completely uncharitable. Every maga republican I know is just concerned with poorly articulated cost/benefits of such programs.

We the liberal elite grew up with institutions making these kinds of decisions and we trust it to a certain extent.

There's a trust gap. Even the staunchest republican I know will gladly volunteer to help their local community for the most part. That's their priority.

Why couldn't it be as simple as not wanting your taxes spent overseas when you're own communities are struggling?

It's hard to understand your adversary when you have so much contempt for them.

> I'd bet MAGA wouldn't want more people there to get HIV

That is incredibly charitable. Kudos, I guess, but not at all in line with what I’ve seen.

If it were free, I guarantee every single maga republican I know would be ok with it.

It's an issue of tradeoffs, and the tradeoffs were never clearly articulated even to me the most staunch supporter of foreign aid. We've just accepted it and all such programs because we can see, because we trust, that the analysis was done and is valid.

Government does not currently have that level of trust with half the country, and worse has active distrust.

At this point, I'm not sure it matters that much. You can't convince people who want to be ignorant.

You cannot win an information war, when you dont know you are part of it.

Then you can’t win an information war, when it’s free speech, and counter speech is too complicated.

On the other hand - you sure as hell can convert the blitz into trench warfare, and gum up the war machine.