Trump pulls US out of WHO, recognises two genders in several executive orders signed
The newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump has officially signed an executive order to pull out the United States from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
This order was one of many issued by him as he returned to the White House after four years.
President Trump, while justifying the withdrawal from the WHO, cited an inappropriate political influence of member states on the global body that is about 20 per cent funded by the US.
“Oooh, that’s a big one,” he said as he signed the document.
In his executive order on Monday, hours after he was sworn in for a second term, Mr Trump again cited how the WHO handled COVID-19 as a reason for his decision.
“The organisation’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states is the reason for US withdrawal,” the executive order states.
At the signing of the order, Trump said, “World Health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen anymore”.
This is the second time Trump has ordered the US to pull out of the WHO.
In 2020, during Trump’s first term as president, he was critical of how the WHO tackled the COVID-19 pandemic. He accused the organisation of being biased towards China in how it issued guidance.
He had begun the process of pulling out from the global health body during the pandemic. President Joe Biden would later reverse that decision.
Another notable executive order signed by President Trump was declaring that the US would only recognise the male and female genders.
These genders, he said, are not changeable and are grounded “in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
“As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female,” he had said.
The move, seen as an attack on the LGBTQ community, is expected to draw widespread criticism from rights groups globally.
In the same executive order, Mr Trump ended all government programmes, policies, statements and communications that promote or support gender ideology. In a separate one, he ended the US diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes.
This executive order is called “ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing.”
Furthermore, the new US president issued a directive to declare a national emergency on the US southern border while also signing an order that suspends the country’s refugee resettlement programme for four months,
He also signed an order against automatic citizenship for US-born children of immigrants who entered the country illegally.
Donald Trump on Monday officially became the 47th United States of America president, marking the republican return to the White House after serving as the 45th president of the US from 2017-2021.
Trump took an oath in Washington DC. JD Vance, the vice president, was sworn in by Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
In his inaugural address, the US President said, “the golden age of America starts now.”
Trump said he would end the “weaponisation” of the justice department, wowing that “the scales of justice will be rebalanced”.
“It is my hope that our recent presidential election will be remembered as the greatest and most consequential election in the history of our country,” he said.
Trump won the US presidential election on November 6, 2024, after exceeding the magic number of 270 electoral college votes by six extra points.
Kamala Harris, former vice-president, had 219 electoral college votes in the tightly contested poll.
The president said he would sign a number of executive actions on his first day in office to “reshape” America.
