Trump’s Africa Gambit: Cutting Costs, Fueling Chaos?
By tightening the purse strings and slashing military and development support to Africa, US President Donald Trump’s second-term strategy could be setting up the continent and America itself for a dangerous fallout.
Trump’s administration has made no secret of its “America First” posture.
The White House has dramatically cut foreign aid and development budgets, and now the axe is falling on defence partnerships.
Africa, long struggling with jihadist insurgencies from the Sahel to Somalia, is being told to carry more of the burden but with fewer tools and little backup.
While Washington insists this is part of a “burden sharing” agenda, many African militaries feel they’ve been carrying that burden for years.
Benin, for example, has already lost over 80 troops to jihadist attacks in 2025 alone. And as Gen. Michael Langley, head of US Africa Command (Africom), warns, the stakes are growing higher.
“The epicentre of terrorism on the globe” is how he recently described the Sahel.
He cautioned that if jihadist forces gain access to the West African coastlines, they could funnel money through smuggling and trafficking, increasing threats to global and US security.
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Despite this, Langley confirms a scaling back of US boots on the ground: “Some things we used to do, we may not do anymore.”
In an address to African defence chiefs in Nairobi, Langley made it clear: “We are not a permanent crutch… Our aim is to help African nations build the self-reliance they need.”
But critics say the reality is that the Trump administration is retreating from Africa at a time of unprecedented threat.
According to a BBC analysis, Africom’s base footprint has shrunk, with key outposts like the drone facility in Niger shuttered following military coups.
US strategy now hinges on offshore airstrikes Somalia has already seen 25 in 2025, twice last year’s count and private sector-led economic ties.
Meanwhile, development agencies like USAID have been dismantled under a so-called “efficiency drive”.
Trump’s pivot from long-term development to short-term military optics leaves fragile regions dangerously exposed. The root causes of jihadism poverty, climate stress, weak governance remain unaddressed.
Critics fear the US is not just abandoning Africa, but also ignoring how instability here can spiral into global consequences.
