Irish Examiner View: Trump's bullying diminishes America

Trump’s bullying effort to distract Americans from his disastrously inept response to the crisis further diminishes America. Picture: Associated Press

US president Donald Trump’s supporters argue that swathes of the world excoriate him because they oppose him.

They are right — how could you not oppose and be appalled by a man who, at a moment of great crisis, as a pandemic sweeps the world, suspends funding for one of the health organisations at the very forefront of the battle against the coronavirus?

Trump’s bullying effort to distract Americans from his disastrously inept response to the crisis further diminishes America. This is a tragedy, not just for America but for most of the world.

Most of the world has responded properly to Trump’s petulant dishonesty.

Ireland has told the WHO that we will give another €9.5m to help make up the shortfall left by Trump and help sustain the global response to Covid-19. This is the right decision and one we can all take pride in.

Announcing the decision, Tánaiste Simon Coveney highlighted Ireland’s support for the UN health agency, saying: “So many countries rely on UN expertise and capacity to save lives.” What is it about that that Trump can’t understand?