WASHINGTON — President Trump said Tuesday that the United States would halt funding to the World Health Organization, the global health agency that has been a leading voice in coordinating the world’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The shocking announcement appears to be in response to Trump’s anger over the WHO’s criticisms of U.S. policy.
“They’ve been wrong about a lot of things,” Trump said. “We’re going to put a hold on money [sent] to the WHO. We’re going to put a very powerful hold on it.”
Later in the briefing, Trump said his announcement was not a decision to end all U.S. funding for the agency, but rather a chance to give his administration the chance to “look at it.” The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. has provided the agency with $893 million during the agency’s current two-year funding period, which includes about $236 million in dues. That funding accounts for about 14.67% of the WHO’s total funding, according to the organization’s website. The WHO is also notoriously cash-strapped; the annual dues members companies pay to support its annual budget have been frozen for more than a decade.
The WHO has been sounding the alarm over the coronavirus since early January. By late February the group’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urged countries to prepare — before the U.S. had widespread community transmission of the virus. The WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11.
On Tuesday evening, Trump insisted that the WHO “called it wrong” when it came to Covid-19.
“They really called every aspect wrong,” he said. “They said there’s no big deal, there’s no big problem.”
Trump also lashed out at the WHO for criticizing his decision in January to block travel to the U.S. from certain countries. Officials at the agency never explicitly criticized that decision.
“They actually criticized and disagreed with my travel ban at the time I did it, and they were wrong,” Trump said.
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Public health experts did criticize Trump’s initial travel bans, suggesting they can make responding to an outbreak more challenging. While officials at the WHO did not call out either the U.S. or other countries’ bans, they have advised against travel bans in this pandemic, as in past outbreaks, because they can “divert resources from other interventions,” according to agency guidelines dated Feb. 29.
It’s also unclear whether Trump’s travel ban was successful, as he claims. While public health experts have suggested it may have bought the U.S. time to prepare for the pandemic, it did not stop cases from arriving in the U.S. And many believe the U.S. squandered the extra time it bought.
Tom Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations, who is tracking Covid-19 cases globally, suggested the same was true for this pandemic, in a series of tweets on Tuesday.
“Travel bans neither stopped the spread of this novel coronavirus nor prevented it from becoming a pandemic,” Bollyky said on Twitter.
Jimmy Kolker, a longtime U.S. diplomat and former assistant secretary for global affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, called Trump’s hold on funding “counterproductive to our interests as well as to global health,” and “unethical.”
“If the U.S. abandons that leadership, there’s a real risk that other countries will take the easy way out and say, ‘Well, my contribution is going to be insignificant because the U.S. isn’t paying, so why should I bother?'” he said. “It’s not going to achieve any result that he or others have connected to this in terms of how China has behaved.”
The announcement, which came during Trump’s daily press briefing Tuesday evening, came following a tweet criticizing the WHO earlier in the day.
“The W.H.O. really blew it. For some reason, funded largely by the United States, yet very China centric. We will be giving that a good look. Fortunately I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China early on. Why did they give us such a faulty recommendation?” Trump tweeted.
Trump’s claims that the WHO is “China-centric” are the latest in a growing trend of conservative criticisms waged at the organization. Trump’s remarks come on the heels of the calls in late March for an investigation into the WHO by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).
Helen Branswell contributed reporting.
About the Author Reprints
@ JAMES DOOM
The WHO is not in charge of protecting America from anything.
That job is the President of the United States of America’s job.
Trump can’t handle that responsibility, FACT: He admitted it.
Then why do liberals keep bashing him for not listening to the “experts”? WHO was wrong about a lot of what they claimed:
1/14 WHO tweets that there is no evidence of human to human transmission.
1/23 WHO again says no human to human transmission outside of China.
1/27 WHO raises alert level but is still saying China has it contained.
…just for starters.
Another good reason to vote him out. I am now calling it Trump’s Virus.
Trump lost us an entire month (or more) while he was in denial. Simple math shows that’s thousands of preventable US deaths.
Now Trump wants to supply states with an unproven drug used for malaria and lupus. Of course, his buddies profit from the sale of the drug to our country.
Now, during a global health crisis, he wants to defund WHO.
Trump’s virus – he owns it now – is going to be the thing that beats him in November at the polls.
If you believe what you wrote, you need to find a better news source.
Here’s the timeline of what happened — all of this BEFORE we had even one death in the U.S.:
1/6 CDC issues travel advisory for Wuhan.
1/11 CDC tweets about corona related “pneumonia outbreak in China”
1/14 WHO tweets that there is no evidence of human to human transmission.
1/17 CDC started doing health screenings at 3 airports of travelers from China.
1/21 first case in US for someone who traveled directly from Wuhan.
1/23 WHO again says no human to human transmission outside of China.
1/27 WHO raises alert level but is still saying China has it contained.
1/28 CDC states “ While CDC considers covid a serious situation and is taking preparedness measures, the immediate risk in the US is considered low.”
1/29 White House announces Coronavirus Task Force created. Note – this is despite the WHO downplaying the threat.
1/30 CNN lead story: “World leaders and protestors around the globe are speaking out against the Trump administration’s travel ban.
1/31 Trump declares national health emergency; bans travel from China. Media and multiple Democrats slam his decision calling it racist/xenophobic and unnecessary.
2/2 First case of the Wuhan virus OUTSIDE of China (it was in the Philippines) — two days AFTER President Trump declared a national health emergency.
2/5 Trump acquitted (impeachment).
2/5 Chuck Schumer in a tweet continues to call Trumps’ travel ban from China “premature.”
2/7 White House’s Coronavirus Task Force gives press briefing.
2/9 White House Coronavirus Task Force meets with all governors regarding virus.
2/12 CDC waiting for approval from Chinese for CDC team to travel to China.
2/18 HHS announces partnership to develop vaccine.
2/21 Italy identifies its very first case in their country.
2/21 CDC tweets that it is working with States for preparedness.
2/24 Trump sent letter to Congress asking for $25B for virus effort.
2/24 Nancy Pelosi made a stop in Chinatown and encouraged people to “please come and visit and enjoy Chinatown.”
2/25 There is still no reported community spread in the US (Per CDC tweet.)
2/27 first community transmission reported in US.
2/27 Trump appoints Pence to coordinate efforts.
2/29 FIRST REPORTED COVID-19 DEATH IN THE U.S.
Finally Trumps may pull the plug on funding WHO. GREAT news. Those who bash Trumps decision do not know the facts. WHO praised China response the its efforts on the pandemic and even suggested the the virus did not even originate in China. Unbelievable. This is all because China has lined the pockets of WHO president, Tedros. China has invested billions in Tedros home country, Ethiopa`s infrastructure. China contributed largely to build the new EOWAS headquarters in Ethiopia. China influence is often indirect but it sways influence that most do not understand
Here is another little known fact. China influence is far ranging and methodical. China controls 15 agencies within the WHO while most other members only hold one or two maximum. This is China at its best, dictating the narrative on all matters. TRUMP did the right thing. Do your homework before blasting Trump. China is the issue at hand. China should not be able to use its soft money to peddle its interests. Its seems the US is the only country with a backbone to bring the issue forward.
Don’t worry! US gov hasn’t paid off its debt (~80% of its annual fee) to WHO last year, so US is not losing any.
I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY
~ Donald J Trump
For those who seek to blame and shame the WHO, you give President Trump so much leeway. He’s profiting off of this pandemic. People’s lives are a profit margin for him.
Podium pill pushing President
Prove that President Trump is profiting off this pandemic.
I read the article and watch the news and I see that the administration has been downplaying this until last week. Then I read the comments and I see that you just got the president you voted for, like in every other country.
Good luck
Your comment defies comprehension.
Here’s the timeline of what happened — all of this BEFORE we had even one death in the U.S.:
1/6 CDC issues travel advisory for Wuhan.
1/11 CDC tweets about corona related “pneumonia outbreak in China”
1/14 WHO tweets that there is no evidence of human to human transmission.
1/17 CDC started doing health screenings at 3 airports of travelers from China.
1/21 first case in US for someone who traveled directly from Wuhan.
1/23 WHO again says no human to human transmission outside of China.
1/27 WHO raises alert level but is still saying China has it contained.
1/28 CDC states “ While CDC considers covid a serious situation and is taking preparedness measures, the immediate risk in the US is considered low.”
1/29 White House announces Coronavirus Task Force created. Note – this is despite the WHO downplaying the threat.
1/30 CNN lead story: “World leaders and protestors around the globe are speaking out against the Trump administration’s travel ban.
1/31 Trump declares national health emergency; bans travel from China. Media and multiple Democrats slam his decision calling it racist/xenophobic and unnecessary.
2/2 First case of the Wuhan virus OUTSIDE of China (it was in the Philippines) — two days AFTER President Trump declared a national health emergency.
2/5 Trump acquitted (impeachment).
2/5 Chuck Schumer in a tweet continues to call Trumps’ travel ban from China “premature.”
2/7 White House’s Coronavirus Task Force gives press briefing.
2/9 White House Coronavirus Task Force meets with all governors regarding virus.
2/12 CDC waiting for approval from Chinese for CDC team to travel to China.
2/18 HHS announces partnership to develop vaccine.
2/21 Italy identifies its very first case in their country.
2/21 CDC tweets that it is working with States for preparedness.
2/24 Trump sent letter to Congress asking for $25B for virus effort.
2/24 Nancy Pelosi made a stop in Chinatown and encouraged people to “please come and visit and enjoy Chinatown.”
2/25 There is still no reported community spread in the US (Per CDC tweet.)
2/27 first community transmission reported in US.
2/27 Trump appoints Pence to coordinate efforts.
2/29 FIRST REPORTED COVID-19 DEATH IN THE U.S.
and still:
3/5 DeBlasio rides the NY subway and encourages New Yorkers to continue life as usual… And look at the state of the pandemic in New York City…
Look at the delay in getting checks to struggling families caused by Pelosi’s attempts to re-write the stimulus bill and include entirely unrelated spending. Why are you not upset about THAT?
This is a poorly written article and attempts to frame the issue as “Dumb Trump doesn’t like getting criticized”.
In reality, the WHO has gone to great lengths to protect China, complementing them on their response after they obviously covered this up for a month, refusing to even acknowledge Taiwan as a separate country etc. To not even discuss these issues in context is absurd.
I’m old enough to remember Donald Trump complimenting China in January…
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1220818115354923009
I’m also old enough to remember two weeks ago…
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1243407157321560071
The new narrative: Donald Trump did nothing wrong.
Except he did ignored warnings as early as mid January by his own economic trade adviser Peter Navarro.
https://twitter.com/jonathanvswan/status/1247363112862396417
Instead, Trump put off ordering supplied until mid March. Two months of doing nothing.
So, while you go on a bender of blaming CHiNeSe (Trump spelling), maybe, just maybe you can listen to what Donald Trump is saying and watch what he does. Even in the same press conference he’ll say one thing and then contradict himself. Like when he said Obama left Trump with “bad tests”. FACT: Trump took office 1/20/17 – COVID 19 genome available 1/11/20. Almost THREE (3) years after Obama left Office. Important FACT: There is no possible way to create something you might need in the future if you’ve never encountered it.
https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1216124597952745472
Donald Trump is a liability to America and had recklessly put American lives in jeopardy. Here’s a report about how he used that slack time to encourage companies to PROFIT during the emergence of a pandemic.
https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1247731241086005249
Sam,
My comment has nothing to do with Trump and everything to do with the WHO. Plain and simple, they’re behavior with regards to China and this pandemic has been completely unacceptable. The Japenese prime minister just called them the “China Health Organization”. If lucifer himself had taken money away from the WHO, it still would be the right call. In your rage over Trump you fail to see that it is possible for him to do the right thing sometimes.
Thank you KMartin – your assessment is dead on correct!! It’s astonishing to see how ruthlessly the media is attempting to re-write the timeline and history, but, guess what, we all JUST went through it! We know what really happened! The WHO totally downplayed the outbreak until mid-February (“NO HUMAN TO HUMAN TRANSMISSION” in January Nicholas Florko aka Mr. Reporter!). Why is why MOST nations across the globe dropped the ball on this.
First outbreak reported:
https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1213523866703814656
Genome identified.
https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1216124597952745472
WHO Field Visit to Wuhan, China 20-21 January 2020
https://www.who.int/china/news/detail/22-01-2020-field-visit-wuhan-china-jan-2020
First International Meeting:
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/23-01-2020-statement-on-the-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-outbreak-of-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov)
Emerging respiratory viruses, including COVID-19: methods for detection, prevention, response and control 1/22-23
https://openwho.org/courses/introduction-to-ncov
30-Jan-2020 The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, declared a “public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of novel coronavirus,” adding that China was setting a “new standard for outbreak response.” WHO
https://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/unifeed/asset/2527/2527136/
WHO Director meets Xi in China to discuss transmission – 1/28/20
https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1222259655902212097
Sam read your own cites! These highlight again how the WHO downplayed the spread – probably based on faulty information it was getting, but nonetheless no major alarms. TWO days after the WHO declared a public health emergency (Jan 28 – not “early Jan” as this article implies) Trump banned all travel from China and got hammered for it. The US’s response has not been ideal but neither have most countries responded well. We are not set up for this. Our CDC and FDA were clunky and slow to respond with lots of screw ups. That’s the fault of many administrations, not just the current one. I didn’t even vote for Trump but I’m disgusted with how the media is trying to clearly influence our vote with spin that just isn’t accurate.
It it’s certainly time to stop funding the world Health organization. They are definitely not in favor of US interests.
If you think Donald Trump is MAGA, 100K dead is not great.
He was advised by Peter Navarro in mid January that this could be 2 million lives lost. The WHO didn’t tell Trump to ignore it… But that’s exactly what Trump did.
Any global organization infiltrated by China is deemed to be corrupted.
Including Ivanka Trump’s clothing line…?
think Trumph has been wrong on all cases until just recently he started acknowledging that this is serious and is starting to act more correct.
Stop lying, Felix. Here’s the timeline of what happened — all of this BEFORE we had even one death in the U.S.:
1/6 CDC issues travel advisory for Wuhan.
1/11 CDC tweets about corona related “pneumonia outbreak in China”
1/14 WHO tweets that there is no evidence of human to human transmission.
1/17 CDC started doing health screenings at 3 airports of travelers from China.
1/21 first case in US for someone who traveled directly from Wuhan.
1/23 WHO again says no human to human transmission outside of China.
1/27 WHO raises alert level but is still saying China has it contained.
1/28 CDC states “ While CDC considers covid a serious situation and is taking preparedness measures, the immediate risk in the US is considered low.”
1/29 White House announces Coronavirus Task Force created. Note – this is despite the WHO downplaying the threat.
1/30 CNN lead story: “World leaders and protestors around the globe are speaking out against the Trump administration’s travel ban.
1/31 Trump declares national health emergency; bans travel from China. Media and multiple Democrats slam his decision calling it racist/xenophobic and unnecessary.
2/2 First case of the Wuhan virus OUTSIDE of China (it was in the Philippines) — two days AFTER President Trump declared a national health emergency.
2/5 Trump acquitted (impeachment).
2/5 Chuck Schumer in a tweet continues to call Trumps’ travel ban from China “premature.”
2/7 White House’s Coronavirus Task Force gives press briefing.
2/9 White House Coronavirus Task Force meets with all governors regarding virus.
2/12 CDC waiting for approval from Chinese for CDC team to travel to China.
2/18 HHS announces partnership to develop vaccine.
2/21 Italy identifies its very first case in their country.
2/21 CDC tweets that it is working with States for preparedness.
2/24 Trump sent letter to Congress asking for $25B for virus effort.
2/24 Nancy Pelosi made a stop in Chinatown and encouraged people to “please come and visit and enjoy Chinatown.”
2/25 There is still no reported community spread in the US (Per CDC tweet.)
2/27 first community transmission reported in US.
2/27 Trump appoints Pence to coordinate efforts.
2/29 FIRST REPORTED COVID-19 DEATH IN THE U.S.
and still:
3/5 DeBlasio rides the NY subway and encourages New Yorkers to continue life as usual… And look at the state of the pandemic in New York City…
3/13 President Trump declares a national emergency
Look at the delay in getting checks to struggling families caused by Pelosi’s attempts to re-write the stimulus bill and include entirely unrelated spending. Why are you not upset about THAT?
I agree with you KMartin. No matter what political affiliation, a threat to NATIONAL security is above all. The WHO intentionally failed the world in their assessment. ALL flights from CHINA should have been banned. Trump should turn the CDC UPSIDE DOWN the people he relied on for insights on the Con V 19 did not have the nations best interests. The CIA should’ve also briefed Trump on the real situation in China. The funding appropriated for the WHO should fund a NEW CDC that is proactive not reactive.
@KMartin
Nice timeline…
You forgot Trump: I take no responsibility (as the death tolls rise
You forgot Trump ordering PPE two weeks ago knowing of the urgent need by States earlier
You forgot Trump podium pill pushing an illicit treatment that has killed people
You forgot Trump and cabinet members profiting from his pill pushing
But just like Trump: Take no responsibility (blame others)
He’s blamed:
CHiNa
CHiNeSe
The WHO
The Democrat HOAX
The ‘virus’ HOAX
Democrats
His Impeachment
Dr.’s and Nurses for THEFT of PPE