House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is expressing her disapproval of President Donald Trump’s attempt to shift the blame to the World Health Organization (WHO) for its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Pelosi released a statement on Wednesday to share her reaction to the president’s announcement on Tuesday that he will halt funding to the WHO.
“The President’s halting of funding to the WHO as it leads the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic is senseless,” Pelosi wrote.
She also blasted Trump labeling him a “weak person” and “poor leader” while deeming his response “ineffective.”
“We can only be successful in defeating this global pandemic through a coordinated international response with respect for science and data. But sadly, as he has since Day One, the President is ignoring global health experts, disregarding science and undermining the heroes fighting on the frontline, at great risk to the lives and livelihoods of Americans and people around the world. This is another case, as I have said, of the President’s ineffective response, that ‘a weak person, a poor leader, takes no responsibility. A weak person blames others.'”
“This decision is dangerous, illegal and will be swiftly challenged,” she added.
Pelosi also tweeted similar sentiments late Tuesday.
The truth is a weak person, a poor leader, takes no responsibility. A weak person blames others.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) April 15, 2020
Shortly after Trump’s White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing on Wednesday, Pelosi also wrote a letter to her Democratic colleagues. She highlighted the importance of understanding the truth about how the country arrived at this critical point amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Offering a brief timeline of events, the California lawmaker claimed Trump “dismantled” the pandemic infrastructure he inherited from the Obama administration.
Now more than ever, we need the truth. And the truth is that Donald Trump dismantled the infrastructure handed to him which was meant to plan for and overcome a pandemic, resulting in unnecessary deaths and economic disaster.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) April 15, 2020
According to Pelosi, Trump received multiple warnings as the pandemic spread across China and other countries.
Noting Trump’s past remarks, Pelosi also said, “The truth is that Donald Trump told his most loyal followers that the pandemic was a hoax and that it would magically disappear, thus endangering lives and paving the way for economic disaster.”
Pelosi moved forward to the present day to shed light on the obstacles behind the scenes. Despite the president’s claims of adequate testing and healthcare supplies, Pelosi argues that there are still widespread shortages.
“The truth is, one month later, we do not have appropriate testing. The President continues to obfuscate, saying we have more testing than any other country in the world. The truth is that only 1 percent of Americans have been tested. The failure to test is central to the spread of the virus and its impact on those most vulnerable in our society. The failure to test is dangerous and deadly, and without testing, we cannot resume our lives.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also expressed regret over Trump’s decision to defund the organization.
“We regret the decision of the President of the United States to order a halt in funding to the World Health Organization,” Ghebreyesus said, adding, “The United States of America has been a longstanding and generous friend to WHO and we hope it will continue to be so.”
