WHO Denies Ever Promoting “Totalitarian” COVID Measures After US Exit

“At no stage did we recommend mask mandates, vaccine mandates, or lockdowns," WHO claimed.

Trump has formally freed the United States from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for a second time.

Repealing a Joe Biden repeal in 2025, the MAGA/MAHA White House reinstated the order to end the relationship, citing reasons such as COVID-19 mishandling.

Also listed was the WHO’s “failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence.”

Another big reason Trump said was the WHO’s unfair demands for payments from the US taxpayer, which were way “out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments.”

Such as China, which holds significant weight with the WHO, “yet only contributes a small amount despite having a population of 1.4 billion. 300 per cent more than the population of the United States.”

The formality comes one year after the country parted ways with the politicised organisation.

Responding to Trump’s WHOxit in a January 2026 statement, the WHO said they “regretted the United States’ notification of withdrawal.

“This makes the world less safe,” they stated in the defensive response.

Accusing the Trump administration of lying about the WHO compromising American sovereignty, the organisation said it “has always sought to engage with the United States in good faith, with full respect for its sovereignty.”

Protesting legitimate complaints about how they handled COVID-19, the WHO said it never recommended totalitarianism.

“At no stage did WHO recommend mask mandates, vaccine mandates, or lockdowns.”

Avoiding responsibility, the WHO blamed individual governments, saying, in effect, that they took the “you do you” approach.

“We supported sovereign governments to make decisions they believed were in the best interests of their people, but the decisions were theirs.”

This all said, the WHO still “stood by their COVID response, like recommending “the use of masks, vaccines and physical distancing.”

They then rejected claims that the organisation was hijacked by political influences, arguing that this was “untrue.”

The WHO asserted that it “has always been and remains impartial.”

Dropping the “you do you” line again, the WHO declared that it “exists to serve all countries, with respect for their sovereignty, and without fear or favour.”

Ignoring the irony about Trump’s concern regarding sovereignty, the United Nations organisation then boasted about its “Pandemic Agreement.”

About which the WHO said, “once ratified, will become a landmark instrument of international law, which will, they alleged, keep the world safer from future pandemics.”

The organisation concluded its statement saying it is “committed to its core mission and constitutional mandate.”

Appearing to push back, a fact sheet from Robert F Kennedy Jnr’s HHS explained,

“Withdrawing from WHO restores long-overdue accountability and transparency for U.S. taxpayers.

“Although the WHO is comprised of 194 member states, the U.S. has for decades carried a disproportionate share of the organisation’s financial burden.

“Billions of American taxpayer dollars have, over time,” they argued, “often exceeded the combined contributions of many other member states.”

Despite the US’s departure, the HHS said, the United States will continue to lead global health efforts but do so independently.

This will entail “engaging partners directly, deploying resources efficiently, and ensuring accountability to the American people outside of WHO structures.”

The US’s WHOxit was formally ratified late last month.