The United States is withdrawing from UNESCO for the second time during Donald Trump’s presidency, the U.S. State Department confirmed. The move cites alleged anti-American bias, an anti-Israel stance, and a “woke agenda” within the UN agency. Officials specifically blasted UNESCO’s “globalist and ideological agenda for international development,” calling it incompatible with the U.S. ‘America First’ foreign policy. They also condemned the organization’s 2011 decision to admit the ‘State of Palestine’ as a full member as “highly problematic,” contrary to U.S. policy, and fueling “anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization.”
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay expressed “deep regret” over President Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization once more. “While regrettable, this announcement was expected, and UNESCO was preparing for it,” Azoulay added. Trump previously withdrew the U.S. from UNESCO in October 2017 during his first term.
The New York Post first reported the impending withdrawal, noting that Trump ordered a three-month review of U.S. membership last February. According to a White House official, administration officials scrutinizing UNESCO during the review “challenged the organization’s policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as its pro-Palestinian and pro-China biases.”
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