The US is indeed pulling out of the global health agency on Saturday, but President Donald Trump still appears to be willing to rejoin the World Health Organization. He made the comments in Las Vegas as he stated that he would certainly rejoin the WHO after the organization clears up all its management issues.
“Maybe we would consider doing it again, I don’t know. Maybe we would. They would have to clean it up,” Trump said. His comments came just days after he ordered the U.S. to formally withdraw from the WHO, citing concerns over the agency’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises. The U.S. is set to leave the WHO on January 22, 2026.
Concerns Over U.S. Economic Contributions to the WHO
Trump was also irked by the financial dimension of the U.S. and China’s relationship, complaining about how much he hated the fact that the U.S. contributed more donations to the WHO than China, but China had a larger population. The U.S. is still the WHO’s biggest contributor, contributing around 18% of the total funding for the organization. The WHO’s two-year budget for 2024-2025 is $6.8 billion.
These are comments continuing from what Trump has been saying about the imbalance of international financial differences, especially with regard to international institutions. He said the United States should not monopolize the finances while other nations, like China, spend less.
Deal with Saudi Arabia to Invest More Under Trump
To the WHO, Trump declared he would ask Saudi Arabia to invest much more in the U.S. economy. He mentioned he would want to raise $1 trillion from the kingdom, from the $600 billion that Saudi Arabia had promised previously under the plan by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This will allow the U.S. and Saudi Arabia to raise trade and economic ties even higher in the following years.