Trump threatens to permanently end all funding to the WHO

President Trump on Monday night tweeted a letter he sent to World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, accusing him of making "repeated missteps" while responding to the coronavirus pandemic that have been "extremely costly for the world."

In April, Trump said the United States would halt funding to the WHO as his administration conducted a review of its management of the pandemic. In his letter, Trump claimed the review found, among other things, that the WHO "consistently ignored credible reports of the virus spreading in Wuhan in early December 2019 or even earlier" and "repeatedly made claims about the coronavirus that were either grossly inaccurate or misleading."

Trump has accused the WHO several times of protecting China, and in his letter, Trump said the organization can only move forward if it "can actually demonstrate independence from China." If the WHO "does not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days," he added, "I will make my temporary freeze of United States funding to the World Health Organization permanent and reconsider our membership in the organization." The next president could reverse course.

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Earlier this year, Trump was complimentary of China, tweeting on Jan. 24 that Beijing "has been working very hard to contain the coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciate their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American people, I want to thank President Xi!" With the number of U.S. coronavirus cases and deaths continuing to go up, Trump eventually pivoted and now routinely criticizes China and the country's handling of the virus during the early days of the outbreak.