On Friday, President Donald Trump announced that he would be completely “terminating” the United States’ financial relationship with the World Health Organization after the latter’s subservience to Chinese Communist Party narratives about COVID-19.
“China has total control over the World Health Organization despite paying only forty million dollars per year, compared to what the United States has been paying, which is approximately four hundred and fifty million dollars per year,” President Trump said Friday during a press conference.
“We have detailed the reforms that [the WHO] must make, and engaged with them directly, but they have refused to act. Because they have failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms, we will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization, and redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving other global public health needs,” President Trump added.
#BREAKING: President Trump severing ties to WHO: "We will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization." pic.twitter.com/uLu5zoD899
— The Hill (@thehill) May 29, 2020
President Trump had previously ordered a suspension on all funds to the World Health Organization in April:
“The WHO receives vast amounts of money from the United States,” President Trump said during a press conference Tuesday.
The “hold” referenced by Trump is not tantamount to cutting funding to the WHO during the pandemic, but rather a temporary measure while the administration “looks very carefully” into the allocation of the funds.
“And they actually criticized and disagreed with my decision with my travel ban, and they were wrong, they’ve been wrong about a lot of things,” President Trump continued, adding, “They’ve been very China-centric.”
The President concluded, “We’re gonna be looking into that very carefully, and we’re going to be putting a hold on money spent to the WHO, we’re gonna put a very powerful hold on it, and we’re gonna see. [The WHO] is a great thing if it works, but when they call every shot wrong that’s no good.”
The video can be seen below.
WATCH: President Trump says the U.S. is putting a “very powerful hold” on money sent to the World Health Organization pic.twitter.com/22Yi0iGFHm
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 7, 2020
“I’m not saying I’m going to do it but we’re going to look at it,” President Trump said.
The news has been met with cries of outrage from the mainstream media.
