OK, let’s begin by stipulating what everybody agrees with: There’s a lot of wasteful spending in government, a lot of overlap, and too many programs that no longer serve any purpose kept needlessly alive. Pledging to “cut the fat” out of government spending is a good idea for any administration, and some have actually done so.

But that in no way justifies Elon Musk’s shutting down the United States Agency for International Development — which President Trump said has his “100 percent support.” It’s one of the most short-sighted, most dangerous and most stupid decisions made by any modern president — and one Donald Trump will soon regret, especially as Russia and China step in with their own humanitarian programs.

USAID was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, in the middle of the Cold War, to provide a humane presence, not a military presence, for the United States throughout the world. Since then, under both Republican and Democratic presidents, it has saved millions of lives, providing food, health care, housing and security for the poorest people in the poorest countries on the planet.

Among other successes, USAID is credited with preventing a 2014 Ebola outbreak in Guinea. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, George W. Bush’s anti-HIV/AIDS program administered largely through USAID, is hailed for saving 26 million lives so far. Until last weekend, USAID was battling a new malaria outbreak in Uganda.

Remarkably, USAID provided that “smiling face” for America around the world,........

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