Written by Colleen Fitzpatrick (News Writer)
President Donald Trump said that the United States will stop funding the World Health Organization until his administration completes a review of the group’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States gives the WHO around $400 or $500 million per year. Trump told the public that his administration will talk “with other countries and global health partners” about what they plan to do with the US funding that would normally go to the WHO.
The United States provides about 15 percent of the WHO’s budget. According to Mike Bloomberg, “Administration officials signaled the funding suspension would be for 60 days.” Bloomberg has noted that the US had contributed $893 million to the WHO’s operations during its current two-year funding cycle.Different celebrities and politicians have come out and spoken about how they feel about Trump’s opinion. One person who has come out is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“It’s stupid, it’s more than stupid; it’s dangerous,” Pelosi told NPR. Even the Trump Administration officials warned Trump against doing this.
The reason behind Trump halting Who funding is due to WHO not doing enough to call out China’s lack of transparency. COVID-19 originated in China before spreading worldwide. However, Trump himself has in fact praised China for its coronavirus response. On January 24, he tweeted that China “has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus,” he also stated that the U.S. appreciates the country’s “transparency.”
I asked a peer about what they thought of the whole event. They responded with,
“I believe what President Trump is doing is immature and irresponsible of him.” I asked them what they think of politicians and celebrities speaking out about how what Trump is doing is wrong. They responded with, “I believe speaking out is the best thing we can do. If we get it out there, then people know why we believe it is wrong. Finally, I asked what their thoughts were on president Trump ignoring the officials of his administration. They responded with, “I believe him ignoring his administration was foolish and that they’re looking for the best options. Ignoring them is not the best option.”
The Claw 