The funny thing is just how inverted the situation is, for years leftists were saying that this kind of foreign aid is often used to hold small countries hostage. While the right wanted to keep the soft-power the aid gives and claiming this kind of aid is used to keep countries democratic.

Now the right is "screw soft-power" and the left is "think of the children". And in the middle people suffering like always.

The worse part is that a lot/most of that aid is probably of very benign influence, but it is definitely also used for nefarious reasons.

This is dangerous sanewashing.

When Trump attacks USAID (or the CIA or the FBI) from the nationalist authoritarian right, it in no way counterbalances people criticizing it from the left.

In particular, the left criticism of USAID were always "think of the children" because they wanted it to do that more and better. They have remained consistent in that.