US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he may consider rejoining the World Health Organization, days after ordering a US exit from the global health agency over what he described as a mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and other international health crises.
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“Maybe we would consider doing it again, I don’t know. Maybe we would. They would have to clean it up,” Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas.
The US is scheduled to leave the WHO on January 22, 2026. Trump announced the move on Monday after he was sworn in for a second term in the White House.
The US is by far the biggest financial backer of the WHO, contributing around 18 per cent of its overall funding. The WHO’s most recent two-year budget, for 2024-2025, was US$6.8 billion.
Trump told the crowd in Las Vegas he was unhappy that the US paid more into the WHO than China, which has a much bigger population.
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