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US President Donald Trump has said he is going to halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) because it has "failed in its basic duty" in its response to the coronavirus outbreak.

He accused the UN agency of mismanaging and covering up the spread of the virus after it emerged in China, and said it must be held accountable.

In response, the UN's chief said it was "not the time" to cut funds to the WHO.

Mr Trump has been under fire for his own handling of the pandemic.

He has sought to deflect persistent criticism that he acted too slowly to stop the virus's spread by pointing to his decision in late January to place restrictions on travel from China.

He has accused the WHO of having "criticised" that decision and of being biased towards China more generally.

"I am directing my administration to halt funding while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization's role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus," Mr Trump told a news conference at the White House on Tuesday.

The US is the global health body's largest single funder and gave it more than $400m in 2019.

A decision on whether the US resumes funding will be made after the review, which Mr Trump said would last 60 to 90 days.

The WHO is yet to directly respond but UN Secretary General Antnio Guterres said the international community should be uniting "in solidarity to stop this virus".

"It is my belief that the World Health Organization must be supported, as it is absolutely critical to the world's efforts to win the war against Covid-19," he said.

Germany's foreign minister tweeted that strengthening the "under-funded" WHO was one of the best investments that could be made at this time.

The WHO launched an appeal in March for $675m to help fight the coronavirus pandemic and is reported to be planning a fresh appeal for at least $1bn.

Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and philanthropist, said on Twitter: "Halting funding for the World Health Organization during a world health crisis is as dangerous as it sounds."

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the second-largest funder of the WHO.

"With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have deep concerns whether America's generosity has been put to the best use possible," the US president said.

The US has by far the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths worldwide- with more than 600,000 cases and 26,000 deaths.

Mr Trump accused the WHO of having failed to adequately assess the outbreak when it first emerged in the city of Wuhan.

"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," he told reporters.

"This would have saved thousands of lives and avoided worldwide economic damage. Instead, the WHO willingly took China's assurances to face value... and defended the actions of the Chinese government."

Chinese officials initially covered up the outbreak of the virus in Wuhan, and punished whistleblowers who tried to raise the alarm. Beijing later imposed draconian restrictions, including quarantine zones on an unprecedented scale, drawing effusive praise from the WHO and its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

WHO experts were only allowed to visit China and investigate the outbreak on 10 February, by which time the country had more than 40,000 cases.

White House reporters pointed out, however, that Mr Trump himself praised China's response to the outbreak and downplayed the danger of the virus at home long after the WHO had declared a "public health emergency of international concern".

Democrats accused him of trying to shift blame away from himself in an election year, but many Republicans in Congress praised his decision to cut funding.

It is not the first time the WHO's response to the outbreak has come under scrutiny.

On 14 January, the organisation tweeted that preliminary Chinese investigations had found "no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission" of the new virus.

Mr Trump and others have used the tweet to attack the WHO for simply believing China, despite evidence to the contrary. But about a week after that tweet, on 22 January, the agency released a public statement saying that human-to-human transmission did appear to be taking place in Wuhan.

At the end of January, on the same day it declared a public health emergency, the WHO said that travel restrictions were not needed to stop the spread of Covid-19 - advice that was eventually ignored by most countries, including by the Trump administration the next day.

In March, the UN agency was also accused of being unduly influenced by China after a senior official refused to discuss Taiwan's response to the outbreak.

Meanwhile, some health experts also say that the WHO's guidance on face masks has led to public confusion.

Other frequently-made criticisms of the WHO more generally are that it is constrained by politics and a sprawling bureaucracy. It came under particular fire for its response to the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa and how long it took to declare a public health emergency, leading the organisation to announce reforms in response.

At one level, this move is about the coronavirus. Administration officials have been sharply accusing the WHO of missteps in the handling of the pandemic, saying it was biased towards China.

They say the WHO was too ready to support China's deceptive early claims about the virus and then didn't push hard enough against Beijing's attempts to cover up its misinformation. In particular President Trump has latched onto the WHO's criticism of his travel restrictions against China.

But at another level, the move to defund the WHO is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to curtail China's growing global influence.

The argument is that Chinese leadership in international organisations undermines the rules-based, accountable international system needed to prevent and fight a pandemic.

But, the Wall Street Journal reports that the decision also stems from an ongoing discussion on whether to link US aid dollars to the number of Americans working in the groups that receive them.

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Coronavirus: US to halt funding to WHO, says Trump - BBC News

Rapper Kanye West made known who he plans to vote for in the November presidential election.

West, who faced backlash after he wore a red "Make America Great Again" hat, which he said made him feel like Superman, to an October 2018 Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, told GQ "I'm definitely voting this time," when asked whether he plans to speak more about the upcoming election.

"And we know who Im voting on," said West, who appears on the cover of the magazine's May issue. "And Im not going to be told by the people around me and the people that have their agenda that my career is going to be over. Because guess what: I'm still here!"

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West noted that his album "Jesus Is King," which was released a year after his highly publicized Oval Office visit, "was No. 1!"

"I was told my career would end if I wasn't with her," West said, seemingly referencing former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's 2016 slogan. "What kind of campaign is that, anyway? That's like if Obama's campaign was 'I'm with black.' What's the point of being a celebrity if you cant have an opinion? Everybody make their own opinion! You know?"

That wasn't West's only mention of former President Barack Obama, whom he has been critical of in the past. (In April 2018, West tweeted: "Obama was in office for eight years and nothing in Chicago changed.")

"I buy real estate. It's better now than when Obama was in office," West told GQ. "They don't teach you in school about buying property. They teach you how to become somebody's property."

The rapper, whose wife Kim Kardashian West has become a force in the world of criminal justice reform and met with Trump on multiple occasions at the White House to advocate for sentencing reform, said black people "are controlled by emotions through the media."

West made that remark after the GQ reporter told him: "A lot of the reaction to you wearing the hat was 'How could the guy who gave us the gift of 'George Bush doesn't care about black people' now do this?'"

"The media puts musicians, artists, celebrities, actors in a position to be the face of the race, that really don't have any power and really are just working for white people," West responded. "When it's said like that, it's kind of obvious, right? We emotionally connect to someone of our color on TV and feel that this person is speaking for us. So let me say this: I am the founder of a $4 billion organization, one of the most Google-searched brands on the planet, and I will not be told who I'm gonna vote on because of my color."

West said he did not "intend for anything" except to speak his mind and express how he felt when he wore the hat and that he makes his own decisions.

"Both my parents were freedom fighters, and they used to drink from fountains they were told they couldn't drink from, and they used to sit in restaurants where they were told they couldn't eat from," West said. "They didn't fight for me to be told by white people which white person I can vote on."

Janelle Griffith is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.

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Kanye West implies he plans to vote for Donald Trump in 2020 - NBC News

In 2018, Jason Stanley, a philosophy professor at Yale, published How Fascism Works. Although it was a slim volume, it ranged broadly, citing experimental psychology, legal theory, and neo-Nazi blogs; although it was by an academic philosopher, it was a popular book that prioritized current events over syllogisms. Viktor Orbn is mentioned more times in the book than Hannah Arendt. Donald Trump shows up dozens of times, and he is portrayed not as a distractible bozo but as a concerted aspiring strongman. Fascist politics can dehumanize minority groups even when an explicitly fascist state does not arise, Stanley writes. Elsewhere, in a chapter called Sodom and Gomorrah, he argues that Trumps habit of extolling the heartland while decrying urban squalor makes sense in the context of a more general fascist politics, in which cities are seen as centers of disease and pestilence. Stanley couldnt have known that many American cities were, in fact, about to become centers of disease, but he could have predicted that Trump would use such a development to his rhetorical advantage. Some people would like to see New York quarantined because its a hot spot, Trump said, late last month. Heavily infected.

Stanley isnt, or isnt mainly, a scholar of public policy; he is a philosopher of language. When he insinuates that Trump is a fascistand you dont have to be a philosopher of language to catch the insinuationhe means that Trump talks like a fascist, not necessarily that he governs like one. Still, many passages in Stanleys book begin with a discussion of Germany in the nineteen-thirties, or Rwanda in the nineteen-nineties, before pivoting to a depiction of the contemporary United States. Ever since my book came out, Ive been fighting with critics who go, Youre overreacting, youre exaggerating, its irresponsible to call this fascism or that fascism, Stanley said. Ill point to a step Trump has takenhes using ICE to round up children, hes surrounding himself with loyalists and generals, hes using the apparatus of government to dig up dirt on a political rivaland the response is always Sure, thats bad, but its not a big enough step to justify the F-word. Im starting to feel like the its-not-a-big-enough-step people wont be happy until theyre in concentration camps.

Stanley, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, acknowledges that he is unusually prone to worst-case thinking. (As my colleague Masha Gessen once observed, It is no fun to be the only hysterical person in the room.) Stanley has written that, during his childhood, his fathers Holocaust induced anxiety was all encompassing; his mother taught him that the moment where one must accept that a situation is genuinely dangerous is usually well past the time when one can exit it. He also acknowledges, of course, that there are plenty of big steps that Trump hasnt taken, and may never take: imposing martial law, closing the borders, indefinitely postponing the 2020 Presidential election. Still, if Trump were ever going to be tempted to try something like this, wouldnt now be the time? A lot of us who were deeply worried about Trump from the beginning were specifically worried about what would happen when he got his Reichstag-fire moment, Stanley said. (The Reichstag, a government building in Berlin, was set ablaze in an arson attack, in 1933; Hitlers government blamed the arson, falsely, on Communist agitators, and used it as a pretext to suspend civil liberties.) Trump is lucky, in a way, because the coronavirus is a real crisis, Stanley continued. He didnt have to manufacture one. And now hes acting the way strongmen always act in a time of crisisgrandstanding, hogging the media spotlight, demanding obedience. So far, at least, his approval rating seems to have held fairly steady.

On March 6th, Yale closed for spring break and never reopened. Instead, like so many other institutions around the world, Yale has become a very expensive and prestigious series of Webinars. Stanley is still teaching his big spring lecture course, Propaganda, Ideology, & Democracy, now via live stream, from a red wingback chair in his living room. The fascist leader is a tough guy who acts from his gut, who just knows whats right by instinct and doesnt need to rely on pointy-headed intellectuals, Stanley said earlier this month, addressing a few dozen students on Zoom. All those people who reason and say, On the one hand, on the other handthats weakness and cowardice and decadence.

A few moments later, a preposterously cute child wandered into the frame. Sorry, its my sons fifth birthday, Stanley said.

Wheres all the people? his son said, looking at the screen.

The people are hiding behind their cameras, Stanley said.

A few of the students unmuted themselves and wished the child a happy birthday. Stanley thanked them, then kissed his son on the forehead and ushered him out of the room. We need to get back to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, he said.

On March 27th, Congress passed a two-trillion-dollar coronavirus-relief package, the largest stimulus bill in U.S. history. It included what Democrats pejoratively called a corporate slush fundhalf a trillion dollars that could be doled out to various large companies, including hotels, at the discretion of the executive branch, which is run by a hotel magnate. But the bill also required oversight: a special inspector general, Glenn Fine, would monitor the spending, reporting to Congress anything that seemed amiss. President Trump signed the bill, then immediately issued a signing statement making clear that he would not obey the laws oversight provision. (Asked about this by reporters, Trump responded, Ill be the oversight.) A few days later, Trump fired Fine and announced that Brian Miller, a White House lawyer, would oversee the pandemic-relief spending. On Wednesday, the Treasury announced that, in an unprecedented move, stimulus checks would bear the Presidents name, and Trump threatened to force Congress into adjournment, which no President has ever done. When somebodys the President of the United States, the authority is total, Trump said at a recent press conference. Its total.

Stanley has not rewritten his syllabus in light of COVID-19. Even so, his students cant help drawing connections between what they see on the news and what they read in classThe Origins of Totalitarianism, by Hannah Arendt; Conspiracy Theories, a recent book by the philosopher Quassim Cassam; and, naturally, Stanleys own How Fascism Works. On a recent Thursday afternoon, Stanley and a few of his students gathered (virtually, of course) to discuss overtly what theyd all been weighing privately: How does what were discussing in class bear on our present, and on our near future?

Lulu Chang, a graduate student at Yales School of Management, said that one of the courses main themes was the authoritarian leaders desire to control the truth: Something that Professor Stanley says all the time is If you take away truth, and you cant speak truth to power, all thats left is power. In the early days of the coronavirus crisis, she continued, there was initially a sense that this was not going to be that big of a deal. And then, as it became clearer and clearer that that was not going to be the case, that narrative continued to shift, as though everyone knew all along. (Trump, on February 27th: One dayits like a miracleit will disappear. Trump, on March 17th: Ive always viewed it as very serious.)

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Studying Fascist Propaganda by Day, Watching Trumps Coronavirus Updates by Night - The New Yorker

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones' newsletters.

For the first time ever, Im a little scared of what Trump might do later this year:

The picture is from Joshua Bickel of the Columbus Dispatch, and it shows a swarm of protesters outside the Ohio statehouse. Roughly speaking, what happened is that Trump ordered up a mob, Fox News and Rush Limbaugh passed the order along, and local GOP groups happily ginned one up. Needless to say, this isnt limited to Ohio:

Across the nation, protests against the stay-at-home orders that health experts say are needed to save lives are taking place, with more set for the coming days.In Raleigh, more than 100 demonstrators gathered to protest Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Coopers stay-at-home order. Kentucky, Utah and Wyoming also saw similar protests. More events are scheduled for Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas, Oregon, Idaho and Washington state.

The largest took place in Michigan on Thursday, where police said 3,000 to 4,000 people showed up at the state Capitol in Lansing to protest Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmers extended and expanded stay-at-home order, which was signed into law last week. The protests have had a tea party flavor to them, with demonstrators carrying Dont Tread on Me flags and wearing Make America Great Again gear. Some have even waved Confederate flags.

As always, the danger here is not so much Trump himself. Its been obvious for a long time that hes a sociopath who doesnt care aboutor maybe even understandthe consequences of his actions on other people. The danger is that the Republican Party, so far, is cheerfully going along with him. Even in the middle of a global pandemic thats already killed more than 100,000 people, they are acting as Trumps loyal spear carriers no matter how reckless or deadly hes become.

Even after three years of Trump, I guess I didnt believe that Republicans would truly go so far. But even the prospect of bodies stacked endlessly in mass graves hasnt brought them to their senses. I guess at this point nothing will.

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Donald Trump Has Discovered He Can Dial Up a Mob Whenever He Wants - Mother Jones

MSNBC's Joe ScarboroughCharles (Joe) Joseph ScarboroughScarborough: 'You can't be conservative and support Donald Trump' Scarborough defends 'MyPillow guy' appearance at coronavirus briefing: 'I salute him' for making masks Trump reviews Pelosi on morning TV: 'She wasn't bad' MORE said Wednesday that "you can't be conservative and support Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpMichael Cohen to be released early from prison amid coronavirus pandemic: report Biden assembling White House transition team Top Republicans call on Trump to fund WHO pending director-general's resignation MORE," with the former member of the GOP claiming that "lifelong Republicans" are telling him they look at Gov. Andrew CuomoAndrew CuomoOvernight Health Care: Trump guidelines on reopening to let governors make decision | Trump approach garners mixed reviews | Senate adjourns without deal on small business loans 14 things to know about coronavirus for today Age must not be used as primary criteria to deny treatment MORE (D-N.Y.) and "they're like, 'God, there's a leader.'"

The commentary from the "Morning Joe" co-host comes as the president continues to dominate the political media landscape due to extensive coronavirus task force briefings given on a daily basis, which drew 6.5 million viewers in the 6 p.m. hour on Monday on Fox News alone.

"I dont think the media should run the daily briefings, but its not because Im afraid theyre helping Donald Trump," Scarborough said Wednesday morning. "Theyre not news."

"But theyre actually hurting Donald Trump day in and day out. People see Cuomo even lifelong Republicans tell me they look at Cuomo and theyre like, 'God, theres a leader,'" he added.

"Hes really damaging his political standing by going out every day and engaging in clownish behavior,"Scarborough later added of Trump. "And thats, by the way, conservatives well, not conservatives. You cant be conservative and support Donald Trump. Trumpists are even saying that now."

Trump's approval rating on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic in a Monday poll by The Hill and HarrisX stands at 50 percent, with his overall approval at 48 percent.

MSNBC announced it will air Morning Joe Special Report: Isolation Nation on Thursday morning at 8 a.m. ET.

Guests are slated to answer "viewer questions about how the decisions our leaders make today affect the countrys future" and will include presumptive 2020 Democratic nominee Joe BidenJoe BidenBiden assembling White House transition team Manchin to back Biden for president Joe Biden must pick a progressive black woman as VP if he wants to win MORE, wife Jill Biden, former presidential candidate Pete ButtigiegPete ButtigiegScarborough: 'You can't be conservative and support Donald Trump' Democrats must stick with Biden (because they are stuck with him) Trump sparks debate over merits of voting by mail MORE and pop star Lady Gaga.

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Scarborough: 'You can't be conservative and support Donald Trump' | TheHill - The Hill