Trump threatens to take US out of WHO entirely and stop all funding

Enlarge / President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday, May 14, 2020. (credit: Getty Images | Bloomberg)

President Trump yesterday threatened to permanently end US funding of the World Health Organization and withdraw the US from the WHO entirely.

In a letter to WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Trump alleged that "the repeated missteps by you and your organization in responding to the pandemic have been extremely costly for the world" and that the WHO must "demonstrate independence from China."

"[I]f the World Health Organization does not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days, I will make my temporary freeze of United States funding to the World Health Organization permanent and reconsider our membership in the organization," Trump wrote. "I cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to nance an organization that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving America's interests."

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