This was obvious from the beginning. Trump was asked about the NIH grant on 17 April, and responded that he'd look into it and possibly cancel it.[1] Two days later, the NIH emailed the EcoHealth Alliance, referencing conspiracy theories about the Wuhan Institute of Virology and asking for additional information.[2] A few days later, the NIH told the EcoHealth Alliance that the grant, titled "Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence", does not "align with the program goals and agency priorities".

Just let that sink in: the NIH claims that understanding the risk of bat coronavirus emergence does not align with agency priorities. The excuse for canceling the grant is laughable.

This is widely viewed as a major attack on the way that science is funded in the US. Politics sets the overall funding priorities, but experts decide on which specific grants to fund. The president intervening to cancel a particular grant that has already been awarded - based on positive reviews by experts - is an attack on this system.

In response, 77 US Nobel laureates in scientific fields have demanded an explanation for the cancellation of the grant.[3]

1. https://youtu.be/dvXYFQRxYIA

2. https://www.sciencemag.org/sites/default/files/Lauer.Daszak....

3. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/preposterous-77-nobe...