Why did Donald Trump order US’ exit from major UN agencies and other global bodies?

In his search for global supremacy, US President Donald Trump has now exited over 60 global platforms. Days after the takeover of Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, US President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will withdraw from several United Nations entities, claiming they operate contrary to US national interests.

Since he assumed office for the second time Trump has continuously claimed that the US has disproportionately contributed to global organisations only to find that the international bodies have a different globalist agenda. On multiple occasions he has accused international organisations of backing China despite the US contributing more.

This was the US’s argument when it withdrew from the World Health Organisation in January 2025. Back then, the US had cited the WHO’s “failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states”.

The US had said then: “The WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments.  China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300% of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90% less to the WHO.”

Trump in a statement cited opposition to what he called “globalist agenda” as the reason for the latest withdrawals. He said the withdrawals would help redirect US taxpayer money towards more relevant issues. “These withdrawals will end American taxpayer funding and involvement in entities that advance globalist agendas over US priorities, or that address important issues inefficiently or ineffectively, such that US taxpayer dollars are best allocated in other ways to support the relevant missions,” the statement said.

Some of the key UN entities the US will withdraw from include a major climate treaty and a UN body that promotes gender equality and women’s empowerment.

President Trump shared a memo naming several international organisations and UN bodies. Among them was the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the main global agreement through which countries cooperate on climate change. It is often described as the foundation of global climate action because it led to later agreements, including the 2015 Paris climate deal.

Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defence Council, said the US would be the first country to walk away from the UNFCCC. “Every other nation is a member, in part because they recognise that even beyond the moral imperative of addressing climate change, having a seat at the table in those negotiations represents an ability to shape massive economic policy and opportunity,” Bapna said.

The United States has been distancing itself from this process. Last year, it did not attend the UN’s annual global climate summit for the first time in about 30 years, signalling a step back from international climate cooperation under Trump’s leadership.

The US will also withdraw from UN Women, which works for gender equality and the empowerment of women, and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the agency focused on family planning as well as maternal and child health in more than 150 countries. The US cut its funding for UNFPA last year.

Withdrawing from these entities also means a reduction in funding. President Trump has already cut most voluntary contributions the US provides to many UN agencies, reducing both American involvement and financial support across large parts of the UN system.

The withdrawal from the organisations, most of which are related to the UN, is unlikely to deter Trump from trying to extending his global influence. His primary ‘weapon’ — tariff threat — is likely to stay and so is the US’s military power. In 2025, the US used its military power to launch attacks in countries like Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, and Iran.

US officials, cited by news website France 24, said a full UN withdrawal is unlikely as Trump would want to be part of a coalition that sets global standards. Moreover, since China is a part of the UN with veto power, Trump would like to be on the table to counter its influence. Trump would also want continued association with organisations such as the International Telecommunications Union, the International Maritime Organization, and the International Labor Organization to counter China.