US President Donald Trump has said the WHO has "very much sided" with China on the coronavirus crisis, asserting that many are unhappy with the "very unfair" praise by the global health agency on Beijing's handling of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
President Trump was responding to a question on allegations by Republican Senator Marco Rubio that the World Health Organization (WHO) showed "favouritism" to China where the disease originated.
Congressman Michael McCaul, ranking member on the House Foreign Relations Committee, has questioned the integrity of the WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, saying "that there were several red flags in his past with respect to his relationship with China." "It (WHO) has been very very much sided with China. A lot of people are not happy about it," Trump told reporters at a White House news conference on Wednesday.
Trump was asked if he agreed that the WHO showed favouritism and the US should re-explore its relationship with the Geneva-based UN health agency once the dust settles.
"I think there is certainly a lot of talk that it's been very unfair. I think that a lot of people feel that it's been very unfair," Trump replied. In a tweet Congressman Greg Steube alleged that the WHO has been a mouthpiece for China during the coronavirus pandemic.
