Trump Just Pulled Out of UNESCO (Again) Because It’s ‘Woke’
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Trump Just Pulled Out of UNESCO (Again) Because It’s ‘Woke’
President Donald Trump is pulling the U.S. out of the world heritage organization UNESCO. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said the move is due to the group’s perceived agenda. Kelly didn’t elaborate on the reasons behind the decision, but other government spokespeople have said the president takes issue with the group’s decision to admit Palestine as a member state. It follows after Trump ordered a 90-day review of U.s. involvement in the organization earlier this year.
“President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from UNESCO—which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement shared with the Daily Beast Tuesday.
She added that Trump “will always put America First” and that his administration will “ensure our country’s membership in all international organizations aligns with our national interests.”
Trump has already once pulled the U.S. out of the world heritage organization, citing anti-Israel bias back in 2017. Philippe Wojazer/Reuters
While Kelly didn’t elaborate on the reasons behind the decision, other government spokespeople have said the president takes issue with the group’s decision to admit Palestine as a member state, its promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion policies, as well as perceived pro-China bias.
“These claims […] contradict the reality of UNESCO’s efforts, particularly in the field of Holocaust education and the fight against antisemitism,” the organization’s Director General Audrey Azoulay told the Associated Press Tuesday.
It follows after Trump ordered a 90-day review of U.S. involvement in the organization earlier this year. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
The United States’ withdrawal will come as little surprise to the agency, after Trump ordered a 90-day review of U.S. membership earlier in February, and given that it’s now the second time he’s pulled the country out of the organization.
The first came in 2017, when the president announced during his first term the U.S. would be leaving over accusations of an anti-Israel bias.
That decision was in turn reversed under President Joe Biden in 2023, who argued for continued membership so as to counteract China’s perceived sway within the group, and in particular the CCP’s use of its influence to downplay the contribution of Uyghur Muslims and other minorities to the repressive Asian nation’s history.