Trump Team Targets WHO Exit on Day One, Citing Globalist Agenda and Threat to US Sovereignty

Donald Trump’s transition team is making waves with plans to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) on day one of the new administration. This decisive move highlights mounting concerns that the WHO has become a leviathan that is eroding national sovereignty and advancing globalist agendas at the expense of American national interests.

Sources close to the Trump team have revealed plans to announce the withdrawal on January 20, inauguration day, a move designed to demonstrate a strong stance against what they see as the WHO’s failures.

The departure will deal a significant financial blow to the organization, stripping it of its largest funding source and increasing its reliance on private contributors, including billionaire globalist Bill Gates.

This decisive action has been met with mixed reactions. Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health at Georgetown Law, expressed concern, calling the move “catastrophic” for the globalist institution.

“America is going to leave a huge vacuum in global health financing and leadership,” Gostin warned, suggesting that no other nation or organization could step up to fill the gap left by the U.S.

The Trump team’s plans follow a history of strained relations between the U.S. and the WHO.

In 2020, Trump initiated the process of leaving the organization, accusing it of being controlled by China amid its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although the process was halted when Joe Biden rejoined the WHO on his first day in office in 2021, Trump’s return will signal a renewed effort to hold the organization accountable and distance the U.S. from perceived globalist influences.

Ashish Jha, Biden’s former Covid response coordinator, suggested the timing of the withdrawal is no coincidence.

“There are lots of people who are going to be part of the inner circle of the administration who do not trust the WHO and want to symbolically show on day one that they are out,” Jha explained, adding that reversing Biden’s inaugural move sends a powerful message.

A person familiar with the Trump team’s plans dismissed concerns over the potential fallout, saying, “The same WHO that we left in the first administration? It seems like we wouldn’t much care what they have to say.”

The WHO itself has remained largely silent, though its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, recently expressed hope for continued collaboration with U.S. policymakers.

“I believe U.S. leaders understand that the U.S. cannot be safe unless the rest of the world is safe,” he said, calling the organization “unique” in its mission.

Critics of the WHO argue that the agency’s priorities have been increasingly aligned with the interests of powerful nations like China and private entities, leaving less room for genuine global health initiatives. Proponents of the withdrawal believe it is an opportunity for the U.S. to lead by example, prioritize domestic interests, and encourage reform in international organizations.