Dems Will Freak: Trump Yanks Millions from WHO And Gives It To…..
Democrats already aren’t happy with the fact that President Donald Trump is halting U.S. funding for the World Health Organization.
They’re going to be a lot more unhappy when they realize that money is going to go to nongovernmental organizations like Rev. Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse during the 60-day pause of funding to the WHO.
According to the New York Post, money that otherwise would have gone to the WHO will instead be redirected to NGOs like the Red Cross and, yes, Samaritan’s Purse. The move comes after the White House says the WHO was unable to properly vet coronavirus data coming out of China in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The United States’ annual dues to the international organization are $58 million, according to the Post, with the next installment due in September.
“Trump administration officials have ceased ‘voluntary’ contributions from agencies including USAID, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services — totaling about $300 million-$400 million a year,” the Post reported.
“An administration official told The Post that efforts were underway to redirect ‘every single pot of money’ from the WHO to other organizations. Large international relief organizations already are in many cases doing similar work, they said.”
One senior administration official likened the WHO to a construction company that can’t do the job you hired it to do.
“If you pay a contractor to build you a house and the roof falls in, you don’t keep paying them, you find a new contractor,” the unnamed official said in a statement to The Daily Caller.
“WHO clearly failed to do its job, and continues to make serious mistakes that puts our nation’s safety and security at risk, including allowing the reopening of wet markets. It shouldn’t be controversial for the U.S. to want to partner with international organizations that will actually protect international health.”
Others expressed disdain for the WHO’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
“Watching the Democrats rush to defend the World Health Organization, which uncritically took China at its word that COVID-19 wasn’t a threat or contagious among humans, is really something,” Rachel Bovard of the Conservative Partnership Institute told The Daily Caller.
“This is an organization which failed spectacularly at its primary mission. At the very least, a review of U.S. taxpayer contributions — which make up the largest amount of money the WHO receives from any country — is more than warranted.”
The Democrats remain unhappy over Trump’s decision to halt funding for the WHO.