Written by Nandita Bose and Kanishka Singh
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he might consider returning to the World Health Organization, days after he ordered the United States to leave the World Health Organization due to what he described as mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and other international health crises. . .
“Maybe we’ll think about doing it again, I don’t know. Maybe we will. They’ll have to clean it up,” Trump said during a rally in Las Vegas.
The United States is scheduled to withdraw from the World Health Organization on January 22, 2026. Trump announced the move on Monday after he was sworn in for a second term in the White House.
The United States is the WHO’s largest financial backer, contributing approximately 18% of its total funding. The WHO’s latest budget for the two years, 2024-2025, was $6.8 billion.
Trump told the crowd in Las Vegas that he was unhappy that the United States paid more to the World Health Organization than China, which has a much larger population.
He added that he would ask Saudi Arabia to invest about one trillion dollars in the United States, up from the $600 billion that the Saudis pledged to invest.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Trump last week that the kingdom wants to allocate $600 billion for investments and expanded trade with the United States over the next four years.
