USAID freeze: Cooling sentiment toward the US in South Africa

Upon taking office, the Trump administration announced a freeze of US foreign aid in January 2025. This study examines the influence of the 2025 USAID freeze on views of the US in South Africa through a survey experiment conducted in March 2025. The results show that exposure to news about the USAID freeze decreases positive views of the US among the survey respondents. The news headline that mentions a suspension of the US’s HIV response program, PEPFAR, especially leads to negative perceptions of the US influence. This study also examines whether news of the USAID freeze heightens perceptions that China is a better economic partner than the US. The results indicate that the difference between the treatment and control groups is not statistically significant, although a larger sample size may yield a different result. The findings contribute to a growing body of literature on populism and foreign aid and provide preliminary evidence suggesting that the 2025 USAID freeze may undermine the US soft power.