Donald Trump is threatening to permanently end U.S. funding to the essential World Health Organization (WHO).

Trump claims that the WHO went too easy on China in the early stages of the global coronavirus pandemic.

So let’s look at just two examples of what Trump was saying (on Twitter, of course) at the same time.

January 24:

“China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”

February 7:

“Just had a long and very good conversation by phone with President Xi of China. He is strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus. He feels they are doing very well, even building hospitals in a matter of only days. Nothing is easy, but... ....he will be successful, especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone. Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!”

It is beyond obvious that Trump is trying to shift the blame for his absolutely catastrophic handling of the crisis to anyone else — the WHO, China, immigrants, Barack Obama. If Martians landed in the Rose Garden tomorrow, Trump would probably blame them for the coronavirus.

Like Trump himself, the WHO may have initially given too much credence to what China was saying about the coronavirus back in January and February.

But unlike Trump, the WHO is fundamentally committed to — and effective at — helping people (even with the occasional glitches that are unavoidable in any large-scale human enterprise).

Here are two more quotes:
While those quotes could easily be about Trump’s failures around the coronavirus, they are actually from a four-page letter Trump sent to the WHO yesterday criticizing the agency.

It’s just one more example of Trump’s compulsive projecting — accusing someone else of something HE is actually guilty of doing.

And here’s the final sentence of Trump’s letter to the WHO:

“I cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to finance an organization that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving American interests.”

The WHO plays a lifesaving role, especially in developing countries. Cutting its funding now puts the lives of everyone on Earth — including Americans — at greater risk.

We need a stronger, not weaker, WHO to coordinate an international response to the coronavirus. We need the WHO to lead the way in pooling the world’s knowledge about vaccines and treatments, to speed an end to the pandemic, and to ensure vaccines are available everywhere, including in poor nations.

In the midst of a global health emergency unlike anything humanity has faced for at least a century, there could not be a worse time to hamstring the world’s foremost public health resource.

Tell Donald Trump:

You want to criticize the World Health Organization for being no more skeptical of what China was saying in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic than you yourself were? Fine. But, as an American taxpayer, I demand that you reinstate full U.S. funding to the WHO.

Add your name.

Thanks for taking action.

Stay safe.

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen

P.S. This message is part of our ongoing outreach to help you stay informed and involved as our nation and the world grapple with the coronavirus emergency. Public Citizen — like many nonprofits and other small businesses — is feeling the financial strain of this crisis. If you can, please consider donating to support the critical work we’re doing together. Anything you chip in today will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Thank you.
 
 
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