For the third time in recent weeks, President Donald Trump has asserted that American money financed Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD), drawing strong pushback from Ethiopian officials. At a White House dinner for Republican senators, Trump reportedly stated that Ethiopia built a dam mostly with American money, reigniting a dispute over the project’s funding.
The claim, which Trump first made earlier this month on his Truth Social platform, alleges that the United States stupidly financed the dam and that it substantially reduces the water flowing into the Nile River. Ethiopian authorities have repeatedly denied the allegations, with Aregawi Berhe, a senior GERD official, dismissing Trump’s remarks as groundless.
The 4.2 billion dollar dam, Africa’s largest hydroelectric project, was primarily funded through domestic sources including government bonds and public contributions, rather than foreign investment. Ethiopia recently announced the completion of construction, with plans to inaugurate the dam in September after more than a decade of work.
The GERD has long been a point of tension between Ethiopia and downstream nations Egypt and Sudan, which fear reduced water flow in the Nile. Trump’s comments, which appear to align with Egyptian concerns, have raised suspicions among political analysts that he may be influencing diplomatic discussions in Cairo’s favor.
Ethiopian officials maintain that the dam is crucial for national development and will not significantly disrupt water supply to neighboring countries. As the dispute continues, Trump’s repeated claims despite evidence to the contrary risk further complicating an already sensitive regional issue.
