President Trump emerged from the Oval Office and made his way to the podium in the Rose Garden at about 2:48 pm. He was accompanied by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Robert O’Brien, Robert Lighthizer, and Larry Kudlow.
In the Rose Garden, President Trump announced that the U.S. is terminating its relationship with WHO. “We will be today terminating our relationship with WHO and redirecting the federal funds to deserving organizations concerned with world health needs”, he said.
The president said that the US “wants an open and constructive relationship with China” but that it has to “defend our national interest”. He went on to accuse China of the world suffering because of the “Wuhan virus coverup”. The president also said that China has for years conducted illicit espionage to steal US industrial secrets and that he will restrict the U.S. entry to some Chinese nationals “who we have identified as potential security risks”.
After a prompt, televised statement that has been initially announced as a news conference, the president stepped away from the Rose Garden podium without taking any questions from reports. He did not make any comments about Minnesota and whether he has called George Floyd’s family.