Day 1,181: There’s a Trump tweet for everything: Chinese coronavirus transparency edition

No one is hoisted with his own Twitter petard quite like Donald Trump. Hours, days, weeks, months, years latter, it matters not: there always seems to be a tweet to contradict his current words and actions.

Tuesday, the “there’s a tweet for everything” idea came roaring back when Trump announced that the U.S. would no longer provide funding for the World Health Organization despite the world currently suffering from a pandemic. His reasoning was, in part, due to what he said was the WHO being fooled by China’s faux transparency related to the coronavirus.

“Had the WHO done its job to get medical experts into China to objectively assess the situation on the ground and to call out China’s lack of transparency, the outbreak could have been contained at its source with very little death,” Trump said.

But Trump himself praised China’s transparency in January.

And again in February.

When asked about his previous praise for China’s transparency, Trump nonsensically referred to a trade deal.

After another reporter followed up with Trump about his previous transparency-related comments he falsely claimed, “I don’t talk about China’s transparency.”

Trump is criticizing and defunding the WHO for the exact same thing that he has said on numerous occasions.

Ultimately, taking a notoriously secretive communist country’s word is a poor decision by any leader entrusted in their own country’s safety. Trump was wooed by his relationship and apparent affinity for Chinese President Xi Jinping. South Korea, meanwhile, was able to easily see through the fog.

So while the WHO has been far from perfect, they are being made Trump’s scapegoat for his own numerous and obvious shortcomings in reacting to the coronavirus.

1,181 days in, 281 to go

Follow us on Twitter at @TrumpTimer