The president did take concrete action in withdrawing the United States from the WHO, an issue that also is enmeshed in anti-China politics. Claiming the WHO did not initiate the reforms he demanded last month, he said U.S. aid currently sent to the organization would be redirected to other “deserving” public health groups.
“China has total control over the World Health Organization despite only paying $40 million per year compared to what the United States has been paying, which is approximately $450 million a year,” Trump said. “We have detailed the reforms that it must make and engaged with them directly, but they have refused to act.”
Not only does the move deprive the main international public-health agency of its biggest funding source in the middle of a global pandemic, it effectively bolsters the Chinese influence to which Trump had objected. When he first put the WHO on notice in mid-April, Trump ordered a review of “60 to 90 days.” It was not clear why he acted ahead of the deadline he’d given the organization.
