Reports suggest that Donald Trump, if elected president again, plans to pull the United States out of the World Health Organization (WHO) early in his term, possibly on his first day.
Lawrence Gostin, a health law expert, told Reuters that Trump intends to start this process right away. The WHO’s leader, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has urged a smooth transition and hopes to reach a global agreement on pandemics by May 2025.
Trump has been critical of the WHO’s handling of COVID-19 and tried to leave the organization in 2020, but President Biden reversed that decision. Experts worry that if the U.S. leaves, it could harm global efforts to fight pandemics and give China more influence.
Trump has also chosen several people who are critical of the WHO for important health roles, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
