Thanks @realDonaldTrump, but I'm going to explain it anyway

[THREAD] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1262577580718395393
A key item of discussion at the conference is this draft resolution calling for a full inquiry into the origins of #COVID19

Source: https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA73/A73_CONF1Rev1-en.pdf
Trump wants an investigation (but hasn't yet signed the above declaration) ...
Also, as Trump reminded everyone with the first paragraph of his letter, the US is withholding funds from the @WHO as it looks into the @WHO's relationship with China.
And Trump upped the ante by threatening to make the cuts permanent
This pledge puts specifics on a vague commitment China made a few weeks ago at the @WHO Virtual Telethon https://twitter.com/ProfPaulPoast/status/1257642946083590144
But China took the pledge a step further: it promised to make any vaccine developed in China a "global public good". For those who study International Relations Theory, such language is significant https://twitter.com/ProfPaulPoast/status/1262520419095064577
"Hegemonic Stability Theory" is in reference to the theory first articulated by Charles Kindleberger... https://twitter.com/ProfPaulPoast/status/1135146653827117057
... and later expanded by scholars such as Stephen Krasner and Robert Keohane https://twitter.com/ProfPaulPoast/status/1256919617395585025
In contrast, the US has made not such "global public good" promises with respect to a vaccine. Instead, "Operation Warp Speed" (no joke) is an "America First" policy

Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-vaccine-development/
So Trump's letter & China's pledge are just the latest in the ongoing saga of "Pandemic Power Politics Posturing"

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