US attacks on global bodies crippling multilateralism

Since returning to the White House in January 2025, President Donald Trump has wasted no time in resuming his administration’s combative stance toward international institutions.

Within months, the United States has pulled back—once again—from key global bodies, including its suspension of funding to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and a formal exit from UNESCO for the second time.

Trump’s foreign policy playbook, heavy on sovereignty and light on cooperation, is threatening to destroy what little remains of multilateralism.

The long-standing idea that nations can and should work together on global challenges is now in freefall.

Trump’s vision of “America First” has always run counter to the logic of multilateralism. Where multilateral frameworks demand compromise and long-term collaboration, Trump sees weakness and bureaucracy.

His renewed hostility toward international organisations signals not just a continuation of his first-term ideology but an acceleration. This time, the withdrawal isn’t just rhetorical—it’s structural.

In February 2025, barely a month into his second term, Trump announced a halt to US contributions to the WHO, criticising its leadership as “corrupt” and “China-controlled”.

While that rhetoric may appeal to nationalist voters, it couldn’t come at a worse time. New infectious disease threats are on the rise, and coordinated global surveillance is more crucial than ever.

By undermining the very mechanisms designed to alert and respond to public health emergencies, the US is playing a dangerous game—one that puts its own citizens at risk.

UNESCO, too, has again been caught in the crossfire of ideological politics.

In March, the Trump administration finalised its withdrawal, citing “anti-American bias” and a lack of reform.

This echoes the 2017 withdrawal during Trump’s first term, but this time the implications are even more dire.

UNESCO’s programmes in global education, press freedom, and cultural preservation require sustained support from leading democracies.

But these decisions are not isolated incidents—they are part of a broader pattern of disengagement.

Trump has slashed American contributions to climate change programmes under the UN Framework Convention, continuing his open disdain for the Paris Agreement, which he once again exited in January.

For Trump, global institutions are either tools for transactional benefit or obstacles to national autonomy. If they cannot be dominated, they must be dismantled.

The deeper problem is that the US was not just a participant in these organisations—it was a principal architect.

From the ashes of World War II, the US helped build a rules-based order centred on shared values, cooperation, and peacekeeping.

To now turn away from that legacy is not merely shortsighted—it’s self-sabotaging.

America’s strength in the 20th century came not just from its military or economy, but from its ability to convene and lead. That leadership is now in doubt.

The writer is a Journalist and Communications consultant

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