Did Niger Military Tell Biden to Use Money for U.S. Homeless? What We Know

The U.S. threatened to pull funding from the Niger amid the military takeover in the African nation, prompting speculation about a response from its military leaders.

"The United States of America threatens to withhold aid to Niger due to the military takeover, coup d'état," Africa Archives wrote in a tweet on Saturday. "Niger Military says they should keep their aid and give it to their millions of Homeless people in the United States of America. Charity begins at home."

The tweet has been viewed more than 4.5 million times as of Monday morning, but Newsweek has been unable to independently verify the comments from Niger's military. Newsweek has also been unable to find other credible sources promoting the tweet mentioning Niger's response to the U.S.

The post came shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about the recent military takeover in Niger in which soldiers overthrew democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.

"Our economic and security partnership with Niger—which is significant, hundreds of millions of dollars—depends on the continuation of the democratic governance and constitutional order that has been disrupted by the actions in the last few days," Blinken said in Australia during a Pacific tour.

"So that assistance, that support, is in clear jeopardy as a result of these actions, which is another reason why they need to be immediately reversed."

According to the Associated Press, Blinken did not say the military situation in Niger is a coup but added: "The very significant assistance that we have in place that's making a material difference in the lives of the people of Niger is clearly in jeopardy and we've communicated that as clearly as we possibly can to those responsible for disrupting the constitutional order and Niger's democracy."

Newsweek reached out to the State Department via its website for comment.

Over the weekend, soldiers in Niger claimed to have taken over the government and placed General Abdourahmane Tchiani in charge, shortly after members of the president's guard surrounded his residence and placed him in custody.

In addition to the U.S., several other countries condemned the military takeover in Niger, as did the United Nations Security Council.

"The members of the Security Council strongly condemned the efforts to unconstitutionally change the legitimate government of the Republic of Niger on 26 July 2023," the U.N. Security Council said in statement. "The members of the Security Council called for the immediate and unconditional release of the democratically elected President of the Republic, H.E. Mohamed Bazoum, and underscored the need to protect him, his family and members of his government."