Brief by Shorts91NewsDesk / 04:38am on 06 Mar 2025,Thursday International
In a congressional speech, Donald Trump mocked Lesotho, calling it a country “nobody has ever heard of,” while criticizing a supposed $8 million U.S. aid allocation for LGBTQI+ rights. Lesotho’s Foreign Minister condemned the remarks and planned to send a protest letter. The People’s Matrix, a local LGBTQI+ organization, denied receiving U.S. grants. Official records show U.S. aid to Lesotho primarily funds HIV/AIDS programs, not LGBTQI+ initiatives. Lesotho, with one of the highest HIV rates globally, has received over $630 million from the U.S. since 2006 for health programs.
