The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday he’s received death threats and racist insults while leading the international fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was responding to a reporter’s question about whether criticism from world leaders like President Donald Trump made his job more difficult.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “Please don’t politicize this virus. It exploits the differences you have at the national level. If you want to be exploited and if you want to have many more body bags, then you do it.”
This week, President Trump tried to shift blame for his administration’s disastrous response to the pandemic onto the WHO, calling the agency too “China-centric.” Trump and senior Republicans, including Senator Lindsey Graham and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have said they may withhold U.S. funding for the WHO.