The World Health Organization has come under fire from President Donald Trump and a growing number of Republicans who believe the global health agency worked harder to protect China from scrutiny and criticism over coronavirus than it did to warn the world about what was coming.
As such, earlier this week the president threatened to cut off funding to the WHO until the agency changed its “China-centric” leadership starting with Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Tedros has been covering for Beijing practically since the outbreak spread beyond China’s shores. And Trump’s had enough of the obfuscation.
The president blasted WHO at the White House coronavirus briefing Tuesday for failing to support a travel ban that he implemented in January to limit the spread of the virus to the U.S. Coronavirus originated in Wuhan city, China, multiple outlets have reported or confirmed.
Trump then raised the specter of placing a “very powerful hold” on the “vast amounts” of U.S. aid funding that goes to the global health agency.
Later, he walked back the remark when pressed by a reporter about whether it seemed like a good to freeze funding.
“I’m not saying I’m going to do it, but we are going to look at it,” Trump said, adding that it will be something his administration will “investigate.”
The threat definitely got the WHO’s attention, because on Wednesday the agency fired back, claiming a cut in U.S. funding would only result in “more body bags.”
“If you don’t want many more body bags you refrain from politicizing it – please quarantine politicizing COVID,” Tedros told reporters.
“My short message is please quarantine politicizing COVID – the unity of your country will be very important to defeat this dangerous virus. Without unity we assure you even any country that may have a better system will be in more trouble. That’s our message,” he continued.
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“We will have many body bags in front of us if we don’t behave,” he said. “When there are cracks at [the] national level and global level, that is when the virus succeeds.”
Wow. Hyperbole much, Tedros?
Recall this is the guy who, according to one publication, “fights to prevent a pandemic without offending China.” Why are the feelings of Chinese leaders more important than saving the world from a pandemic that began in China?
Tedros ‘fought’ travel bans on China, in particular, labeling them ‘xenophobic’ and unfair (the American media picked right up on that one). He also praised China’s ‘expert handling’ of the outbreak.
As for the ‘body bags,’ that sounds more like panic than anything else. According to NPR:
The U.S. is the single largest contributor to the WHO. Its assessed contribution is 22% of the total members’ assessed contributions. The U.S. pays considerably more than the assessed contributions in additional voluntary contributions. That 22% assessed contribution has been stable for many years, but the voluntary contributions have fluctuated depending on health crises and U.S. political priorities.
That’s a lot of money to do without.
“I’m going to take the burden off the president — in the next appropriations bill, there’s not going to be any money for the WHO,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said. “I’m in charge of the Appropriations Subcommittee, and I’m not going to support funding the WHO under its current leadership.”
Maybe Tedros can convince the Chinese to step up and cover the shortfall.
