When President Trump and Elon Musk cut federal programs, they often equate political and policy differences with corruption.
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Andrew S. Natsios, a conservative Republican who headed the U.S. Agency for International Development under President George W. Bush, called Sesame Street “the most powerful weapon against al-Qaeda and Islamic extremism.”
When President Trump talks about the “hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud” that Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team has uncovered in the federal government, he sometimes singles out one program with particular disdain.
“Twenty million dollars for an Arab Sesame Street in the Middle East,” the president told a joint session of Congress this month, laying out his case for a smaller, more effective government free of what Republicans call “woke ideology.”
But the Arabic-language version of Sesame Street was not just the preserve of progressives. It was supported, in various forms over the years, by members of both parties, including Andrew S. Natsios, the conservative Republican who led the U.S. Agency for International Development under President George W. Bush.
“The biggest weapon against al-Qaida and Islamic extremism is Sesame Street,” Mr. Natsios said in an interview, recalling how successful the show was in Egypt when the American government helped fund it during his time in office. Children would watch the show in the morning before breakfast, he said, which would help them adopt a more positive attitude toward the West.
The show is a textbook example of so-called “soft power” — a form of nonviolent, long-term diplomacy designed to build goodwill and influence around the world — a strategy that Mr. Trump has largely rejected in favor of more transactional, hard-nosed tactics.
As Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk navigate their way through the federal human resources system, their allegations of fraud are often disagreements over policy rather than examples of criminal wrongdoing or corruption.
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