Trump, who became president for a second term on Monday, had withdrawn the United States from both the world’s most powerful public health agency and the globalist climate deal during his first term, exiting the W.H.O. in the aftermath of its disastrous handling of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Trump withdrew from the Paris agreement in 2019, condemning the disproportionate commitments demanded of its signatories, requiring much more financial investment and many more limits on economic development from America than the world’s worst polluters, such as China and India.
Former President Joe Biden overturned Trump’s decisions almost immediately upon returning to office. The Biden administration additionally declared the alleged “climate crisis” a major policy priority and committed the United States to supporting the establishment of a global “pandemic agreement” that would grant the W.H.O. dramatically expanded powers over the public health systems of sovereign country.
President Trump Signs Multiple Executive Orders in Front of Cheering Crowd
In his executive orders on Monday, Trump reiterated his reasons for halting funding to the W.H.O. and for rejecting the Paris agreement. The W.H.O. executive order also ended American involvement in the drafting of the controversial pandemic accord.
Trump ordered America to “pause the future transfer of any United States Government funds, support, or resources to the WHO [and] recall and reassign United States Government personnel or contractors working in any capacity with the WHO” on Monday. The order condemned the agency for its “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.”
“While withdrawal is in progress, the Secretary of State will cease negotiations on the WHO Pandemic Agreement and the amendments to the International Health Regulations,” the executive order detailed, “and actions taken to effectuate such agreement and amendments will have no binding force on the United States.”
“That’s a big one,” Trump told reporters while signing the executive order, recalling that his government was responsible for paying the W.H.O. $500 million during his first term, while other countries invested much less in the agency, which he branded as “a little unfair.”
In addition to its poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the W.H.O. is also currently facing an ongoing scandal over widespread reports that its employees raped and otherwise sexually assaulted girls and women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during operations to help contain an Ebola outbreak in the country.
The W.H.O. issued a statement on Tuesday saying it “regrets” Trump’s decision to defund it.
“WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s people, including Americans, by addressing the root causes of disease, building stronger health systems,” the agency claimed, “and detecting, preventing and responding to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, often in dangerous places where others cannot go.”
“For over seven decades, WHO and the USA have saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats,” the statement continued. “Together, we ended smallpox, and together we have brought polio to the brink of eradication. American institutions have contributed to and benefited from membership of WHO.”
“We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe,” the organization concluded.
Separately, Trump signed an executive order withdrawing America from its Paris Agreement commitments and other United Nations environmental projects.
“In recent years, the United States has purported to join international agreements and initiatives that do not reflect our country’s values or our contributions to the pursuit of economic and environmental objectives,” Trump’s executive order read. “Moreover, these agreements steer American taxpayer dollars to countries that do not require, or merit, financial assistance in the interests of the American people.”
The order triggered an immediate formal notification to the U.N. to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and ended American involvement in “any agreement, pact, accord, or similar commitment made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.” The U.S. government, it declared, would “henceforth prioritize economic efficiency, the promotion of American prosperity, consumer choice, and fiscal restraint in all foreign engagements that concern energy policy.”
A spokeswoman for the U.N. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) condemned Trump’s decision to exit the climate agreements, calling the benefits to America of participating in the deals as “pretty obvious” without detailing any such benefit.
Spokeswoman Clare Nullis asserted that America “has sustained 403 weather and climate spokesperson disasters since 1980 where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion. The total cost of these 403 events exceeds $2.915 trillion, according to US figures.”
Nullis concluded by appealing to local, left-wing American officials.
“The Secretary-General remains confident that cities, states and businesses within the United States – along with other countries – will continue to demonstrate vision and leadership,” she said, “by working for the low-carbon, resilient economic growth that will create quality jobs and markets for 21st century prosperity.”
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