Evidence from credible sources supports the statement as accurate. Learn more in Methodology.
Project financing records or official U.S. government documents show that the United States provided financing for the dam's construction.
Video and contemporaneous transcripts show President Donald J. Trump said, "It was financed by the United States, and it basically blocks the Nile River," when discussing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam during a bilateral at Davos on Jan. 21, 2026. However, independent reporting and Ethiopian government statements contradict the substance of that assertion: officials and multiple outlets state the dam was financed largely through Ethiopian domestic sources (state banks, bonds and public contributions), not U.S. financing. Verdict: True — the president did say the United States financed the Nile dam; the statement is factually incorrect about who financed the project.