Trump Threatens to Leave WHO, Emboldening Xi in Pandemic Fight

Trump says health agency must show ‘independence from China’
Letter is released right after Xi addresses WHO’s parent body

Watch: U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says the WHO “failed at its core mission of information sharing” amid the coronavirus outbreak.(Source: APTN/Bloomberg)

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By Jordan Fabian, Nick Wadhams, and Iain Marlow

May 19, 2020 at 3:23 AM UTC

Updated on

May 19, 2020 at 3:48 PM UTC

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U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw altogether from the World Health Organization, a move that rattled the global fight against the pandemic and bolstered Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s position within the international body.