WHO a puppet of China, says Donald Trump
20 May, 2020
President Donald Trump attacked the US health body as a Chinese "puppet" on Monday and confirmed he's considering slashing or canceling US support.
"They're a puppet of China, they're China-centric to put it nicer," he said at the White House.
Trump said america pays around $450 million annually to the World Health Organization, the largest contribution of any country. Plans are being crafted to slash this because "we're not treated right."
"They gave us a whole lot of bad advice," he said of the WHO.
Trump spoke as the WHO held its first gross annual assembly since the pandemic swept the world after while it began with China, causing massive monetary disruption and killing 316,000 persons -- near a third of these in the United States.
Trump said China only pays about $40 million a year and one idea was for Washington to bring "our 450 right down to 40," but "some persons thought that was too much."
President Donald Trump threatened Monday to permanently freeze US funding to the World Health Organization unless "substantive improvements" were made next 30 days.
Washington suspended funding to the WHO in mid-April, accusing it to be too near Beijing and covering up and mismanaging the coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday, Trump tweeted images of a letter he delivered to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, informing the director-general that "if the World Health Organization does not invest in major substantive improvements next 30 days, I'll make my momentary freeze of USA funding to the World Health Organization everlasting and reconsider our membership in the organization."
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