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A report suggests President-elect Donald Trump will withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) immediately upon taking office. The move would significantly impact the organization, as the U.S. currently provides approximately 16 percent of its budget, amounting to U.S.$6.83 billion in 2024.
Conservative voices have long criticized the organization for its substantial drain on American taxpayer resources, while Trump has repeatedly accused it of serving Chinese interests.
Trump Team Targets WHO Exit on Day One, Citing Globalist Agenda and Threat to US Sovereignty – The People's Voice https://t.co/uRYxSOtWLp
— El Gato Weebee (@elgatoweebee) December 22, 2024
The Financial Times reports that Trump’s transition team has informed experts of their plans to announce the withdrawal from the Geneva-based organization on inauguration day, January 20.
This decision would instantaneously remove the W.H.O.’s largest funding source. The action would complete an initiative Trump began during his previous term. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Trump started the withdrawal process, citing concerns about Chinese influence over the organization. However, the process remained incomplete when Joe Biden assumed office in 2021 and restored relations with the W.H.O.
According to sources, Trump’s team intends to expedite the withdrawal process this time. Ashish Jha, who served as Biden’s White House coronavirus response co-ordinator and currently leads Brown University’s school of public health, told the outlet: “There are lots of people who are going to be part of the inner circle of the administration who do not trust the W.H.O. and want to symbolically show on day one that they are out.”
BREAKING: President Trump is planning on pulling the US out of WHO on day one.
This could be one of the most influential acts of Trump's presidency because it would get the United States one step further away from the WEF.
— 🇺🇸 🍑Catherine🍑 🇺🇸 (@cat_barnes30) December 22, 2024
While Trump’s transition team hasn’t officially confirmed these plans, an insider familiar with the situation told the FT: “The same W.H.O. that we left in the first administration? It seems like we wouldn’t much care what they have to say.”
This development aligns with Trump’s previous criticisms of the organization. In April 2020, he stated: “They seem to be very China-centric. That’s a nice way of saying it, but they seem to be very China-centric, and they seem to err always on the side of China.” Trump has consistently accused the W.H.O. of favoring China despite widespread criticism regarding transparency issues surrounding the coronavirus’s spread and origins.
