President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the World Bank described himself in 2011 remarks as a 25-year opponent to the institution and others like it, saying that they needed to be “thrown away” and started over from scratch.
David Malpass made the comments while speaking to a local Republican gathering in Albertson, New York, in May 2011. CNN’s KFile reviewed a recording of his remarks which were posted on YouTube at the time.
Trump’s decision to nominate Malpass last Wednesday was met with some pushback, with critics contending Malpass was a Trump loyalist not qualified to lead the bank and holding views that are hostile to the bank’s mission, which is to reduce poverty in developing nations through financial assistance.
The US president has chosen the leader of the World Bank since its founding in 1945, but the pick has to be confirmed by the organization’s board of directors. If confirmed, Malpass would succeed Jim Yong Kim, who was chosen by President Barack Obama in 2012 to lead the organization and re-nominated in 2016. Kim announced his resignation in January.
Malpass is a former Wall Street banker who served as an economic adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign. He is currently undersecretary for international affairs at the US Treasury Department. Although Malpass has been an outspoken critic of the World Bank, his 2011 comments feature his sharpest attacks on the organization and its mission.
“For 25 years, literally, I’ve been an opponent of the IMF and the World Bank and of the global – the system of trying to globalize US foreign policy and defer to foreign authorities in setting our policy,” Malpass said in his 2011 remarks. “So I’ve been outspoken. I’ve done dozens of articles in the Wall Street Journal on how the IMF could be revised in order to make it less damaging.”
“I traveled a lot with Secretary (James) Baker and Secretary (Nick) Brady around the world and saw the damage firsthand that’s being done by the US foreign aid programs,” Malpass added discussing his time in the Reagan administration. “Our people don’t know, but it just, as I talked about the Fed, the Federal Reserve, I can do the same on the IMF and World Bank.”
Malpass has previously written critically about the World Bank and IMF in the Wall Street Journal, arguing the bank “systematically impoverishes foreigners.”
Sean Rushton, a spokesman for the Treasury Department, defended Malpass in a statement to CNN.
“Throughout his 40-year career, Under Secretary Malpass has worked to improve and reform the multilateral development banks. When policies at the MDBs (multilateral development banks) have failed to relieve poverty and direct resources where they were needed most, he has spoken out,” Rushton wrote to CNN. “In 2018, Malpass successfully advocated for a World Bank capital increase, including a major reform package negotiated with World Bank Management and shareholders around the world. There is no one better positioned now to oversee implementation of these reforms, which will enhance the Bank’s effectiveness and efficiency. He looks forward to listening to World Bank staff on how to best focus its practices and achieve its mission. “
During the 2011 speech, Malpass cited his time in the Reagan administration, where he served as deputy assistant secretary of the treasury for developing nations.
“I was the senior Treasury person in charge of the World Bank and all of those agencies when I was in the Reagan administration and they destroyed – we, we the United States, through our foreign aid programs, have destroyed countless countries,” Malpass said.
“So in these international organizations, we pushed value added taxes. Even the Republican administrations push value added taxes on foreigners, when we would never stand for one here at home,” he added. “So that’s there’s dozen examples like that where we don’t preach what we practice here at home. It needs to all be thrown away and started over.”