President Trump on Tuesday said he will "strongly consider" ending U.S. funding to the World Health Organization.
The agency "called it wrong" on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Trump said during an evening news conference, and he hinted that WHO officials may have downplayed how bad the outbreak was in its early days. "They should have known and they probably did know," he said.
WHO declared the coronavirus a public health emergency on Jan. 30 and a global pandemic on March 11. Trump, who told reporters on February 28 that coronavirus would "disappear" like a "miracle," declared a national emergency on March 13.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump was also asked about memos written in January and February by senior White House adviser Peter Navarro, warning that the "risk of a worst-case pandemic scenario should not be overlooked." Trump said he didn't see the memos, which were made public on Monday, but even if he did, there was no reason to scare people prematurely. "I don't want to create havoc and shock and everything else," Trump said. "I'm not going to go out and start screaming, 'This could happen, this could happen.' I'm a cheerleader for this country."
-
October 13 editorial cartoonsCartoons Monday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's consolation prize, government workers during shutdown, and more
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
-
The Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being releasedThe Explainer Triumphant Donald Trump addresses the Israeli parliament as families on both sides of the Gaza war reunite with their loved ones
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
