Donald Trump pulled the trigger on the World Health Organization Tuesday, halting critical funding for the Geneva-based international body in the middle of a pandemic.
The US president made the announcement during Tuesday’s coronavirus briefing, held outdoors in the Rose Garden amid a sparse gathering of reporters.
Parroting talking points from last week, when the White House suggested the US may cut off financial assistance, Trump blamed the organization for disseminating “all sorts of false information about transmission and mortality” of COVID-19.
“The outbreak could have been contained at its source with very little death”, Trump declared, a bold assertion for which there is scant evidence, if there’s any at all.
A week ago, Trump blamed WHO for “really blowing it”. He simultaneously praised himself for closing America’s borders and implementing travel restrictions against early recommendations from WHO, where officials initially advised against choking off travel and commerce, citing historical precedent which suggests such measures sometimes proven ineffective.
“Fortunately I was not convinced”, Trump said Tuesday, again lauding his own purported prescience which he claims “saved untold numbers of lives”.
“The WHO willingly took China’s word at face value, even praising China for its so-called ‘transparency'”, Trump lamented. “I don’t think so”, he added, for effect.
Late last month, reports suggested the US intelligence community informed the White House that some of the numbers out of China were, at best, intentionally underreported and at worst, “fake”. Beijing called the accusations “slander”.
WHO’s funding is split up by contribution type. The figures can be broken down and dissected any number of ways. The following chart is from the “financial flow” section of the organization’s website and captures the breakdown of specified voluntary contributions as of Q4 2019.
To be clear, Trump’s assessment was positively scathing on Tuesday – he appeared intent not just on deflecting any and all blame for any perceived missteps by US officials, but in fact on engendering ill-will towards the organization.
In addition to accusing WHO of being complicit in a Chinese coverup, Trump said the body’s mistakes “caused so much death”, an inflammatory remark and one which, frankly, is going to hurt a lot of feelings.
(For more on what the “true” mortality rate for COVID-19 may be, see here)
He also blamed a series of “delays” from WHO for contributing to the rise in cases worldwide and at least partially faulted the organization for America’s economic plight.
WHO, Trump said, failed to obtain timely information and was “late” on investigating the outbreak when it began in Wuhan.
(Deutsche Bank)
If you’re curious to know whether there was anything to learn about the actual state of the US outbreak from listening to Trump on Tuesday, below is a clip which finds the president describing the progress.
As for where the funding that would otherwise go to WHO will be diverted, Trump had this to offer (and the following is verbatim):
For the time being we will redirect global health and directly work with others. All of the aid we send will be discussed at very, very powerful letters and with very powerful and influential groups, and smart groups.
Last week, during Trump’s ongoing verbal attacks, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had a simple message for the White House. “The focus of all political parties should be to save their people, please do not politicize this virus”, he implored.
“If you want to have many more body bags, then you [politicize] it”, Tedros went on to warn. “If you don’t want many more body bags, then you refrain from politicizing it”.
Trump est un putain d’idiot.
Thank goodness. I was worried he wasn’t being “strong” on it. Cut period was speech class?
Vous avez tellement raison à ce sujet. J’ai honte de l’avoir comme président.
This is what failed regiemes do. Search for the guilty and punishment of the innocent. We can expect even more as this administration drifts towards total collapse.
I hope to God the peoples of the world don’t think most Americans are similar to Trump in their thinking. What a moron.
No sir. I’m from a developing country and from what I see, very few people here take President Trump as a moron though I must say the US virus response wasn’t great.
Maybe not most are like this guy, but the one’s who aren’t eschew voting so 25% of the pop can elect a demagogue like this. I saw a headline this morning that flashed a memory. Trump (Nixon): “i am not a king (crook).
As usual, Trump’s words are about 180 degrees from the truth.
There was a very good article written in the NYTimes about the W.H.O. visiting Wuhan in early February. Article was written Mar 4.
Inside Chinaʼs All-Out War on the Coronavirus
Dr. Bruce Aylward, of the W.H.O., got a rare glimpse into Beijingʼs campaign to stop the epidemic. Hereʼs what he saw.
By Donald G. McNeil Jr.
Published March 4, 2020
Trump and the GOP are dismantling the USA like a virus dismantles and repurposes the very cell it lives in. Coincidence?
Trump delays funding to mom and pop because he had to make sure his signature is on the checks that are to be mailed out. His signature on the memo line no less.
Better than his autograph on the lower right.
Today, NY Gov. Cuomo Orders Public Mask Use To Curb COVID-19 Spread. In China, force to public mask at the same time of Wuhan lockdown. The key to contain Cov-19 is to react as quickly as possible. Unfortuantly some of the gov does not.