Breaking news: Trump says U.S. “terminating” relationship with World Health Organization

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced he is terminating the U.S. relationship with the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus, telling the WHO had basically become a puppet organization of China.

Trump declared the WHO had failed to make reformations to the organization that the president had asked in a May 18 letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. That letter had provided the WHO 30 days to perform to reforms.

At his Rose Garden appearance, Trump matched the WHO jointly with China, where the coronavirus originated.

He said Chinese officials “ignored their reporting obligations” about the virus to the WHO and pressed the WHO to “mislead the world” when the virus was first identified by Chinese authorities.

“China has total control over the World Health Organization despite only paying $40 million per year compared to what the United States has been paying which is approximately $450 million a year. We have detailed the reforms that it must make and engaged with them directly but they have refused to act,” stated Trump.

“Because they have failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms, we will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization and redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs,” he said.