U.S. President Donald Trump attacked the United Nations health body as a Chinese "puppet" on Monday and confirmed he is considering slashing or canceling the American support.
"They're a puppet of China, they're China-centric to put it nicer," he said at the White House.
Trump said the United States pays around $450 million annually to the World Health Organization, the largest contribution of any country. Plans are being crafted to slash this because "we're not treated right."
"They gave us a lot of bad advice," he said of the WHO.
"I chose not to make a statement today. I'll be giving them a statement, sometime in the near future, but ... I think they've done a very sad job in the last period of time," The U.S. leader said in a statement.
Trump spoke as the WHO held its first annual assembly since the pandemic swept the world after originating in China, causing massive economic disruption and killing 316,000 people -- close to a third of them in the United States.
Trump said China only pays about $40 million a year and one idea was for Washington to bring "our 450 down to 40," but "some people thought that was too much."
