President Trump was going to restore funding to WHO — then Tucker Carlson stepped in

President Donald Trump had considered restoring partial American funding of the World Health Organization, but that was before Fox News host Tucker Carlson exposed the plan.

According to Axios, Trump was prepared to restore 10% of America's funding to the WHO to "maintain some influence over the organization."

But that all changed when Carlson revealed the president's plan to his viewers last Friday.

Carlson obtained a leaked letter draft that the White House was planning to send to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. In the letter, Trump said he would restore partial U.S. funding despite the WHO's "shortcomings" because he wanted to "see the WHO live up to this potential, particularly now during this global crisis."

Carlson condemned Trump's proposal, slamming the WHO for spreading the "baldest kind of Chinese propaganda" that Carlson said "killed people."

By Saturday, Trump said the plan was "just one of numerous concepts being considered."

But sometime between Saturday and Monday, Trump decided to completely withdraw consideration of the plan, instead sending the WHO an ultimatum.

In a scathing letter released Monday, Trump said he would permanently end American funding if the WHO did not undergo substantial reforms over allegations the organization colluded with China to suppress the truth about the coronavirus.

"[I]t is my duty, as President of the United States, to inform you that, if the World Health Organization does not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days, I will make my temporary freeze of United States funding to the World Health Organization permanent and reconsider our membership in the organization," Trump wrote to Tedros.