CNN’s Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour compared “defunding” the World Health Organization (WHO) to “pulling the plug on firefighters in the aftermath of 9/11.”
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he would be freezing all U.S. funding for the WHO due to the organization spreading misinformation from China during at start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump noted the U.S. is the single largest donor to the WHO providing $400 million annually while China contributes only $40 million. (RELATED:President Trump Cuts Off Funding For World Health Organization Over COVID-19 Handling)
“Defunding @WHO in the middle of a pandemic is like pulling the plug on firefighters in the aftermath of 9/11,” Amanpour wrote in a tweet on Wednesday morning.
Defunding @WHO in the middle of a pandemic is like pulling the plug on firefighters in the aftermath of 9/11.
— Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) April 15, 2020
The anchors tweet comes after it was revealed CNN published a press release from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) claiming the country’s navy was doing a better job at isolating the coronavirus than the U.S. Navy. CNN’s Vice President of Communications Matt Dornic insisted the network was not regurgitating Chinese propaganda claiming the post was a “single update from our international site’s 24-7 Live Story.”
“This is another case, as I have said, of the President’s ineffective response, that ‘a weak person, a poor leader, takes no responsibility,” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said in a statement on Wednesday defending the WHO. “A weak person blames others.’ This decision is dangerous, illegal and will be swiftly challenged.” (RELATED: Pelosi Says Trump’s Decision To Cut Off Funding For WHO Is ‘Illegal’ — Vows It Will Be ‘Swiftly Challenged’)