It is hard to imagine an action more likely to accelerate the decline of US influence in the world than deciding in the middle of a global pandemic to attack the one body that is coordinating the global fight against it.
That however is what the US President decided to do last week.
Announcing that he was suspending and reviewing the US$400m in contributions Washington makes annually to the global health body, almost as if it were some recalcitrant construction company, President Trump confirmed the near bankrupt state of US global leadership.