President Donald Trump announced in his 2019 State of the Union address that his administration had set a goal of significantly reducing new HIV/AIDS infections over the next decade.
In an impressive move, Trump just reaffirmed his commitment to ultimately eradicating the illness in a pair of tweets on Sunday, The Hill reported.
Trump recognizes World AIDS Day
Sunday was World AIDS Day, which is intended to raise awareness and unify efforts among the global community to combat the viral disease that destroys the immune system, and President Trump didn’t let the day pass unnoticed.
“On World AIDS Day, The First Lady and I express our support for those living with HIV/AIDS and mourn the lives lost,” he tweeted.
“We reaffirm our commitment to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic … in America, community by community where we will eradicate AIDS in 10 years, program already started. American leadership has proven that together we can save lives,” the president added.
Democrats pounce
Of course, Democrats refused to accept the president’s pronouncement at face value and promptly attacked and questioned the motives and veracity of his statement, suggesting that his administration’s policies have actually made life more difficult for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
“This president is no ally of people living with HIV, who are disproportionately LGBTQ and people of color,” a number of top Democrat officials said in a joint statement, including Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez, DNC Disability Council Chairman Tony Coelho, and DNC LGBTQ Caucus Chairman Earl Fowlkes.
Their remarks asserted that the Trump administration had tried to reduce funding for global HIV/AIDS prevention programs and pointed to the president’s sharp critiques of Obamacare, Medicaid, and Planned Parenthood, all of which work, to some extent or another, to support those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
White House fires back
But the White House wasted no time in firing back against the DNC and highlighted the partisan nature of the attacks over the president’s remarks on a decidedly nonpartisan issue and insisted that the president was indeed committed to “supporting those living with HIV and AIDS.”
“It was this President who boldly declared in his 2019 State of the Union Address that we are going to end HIV transmissions in the United States within 10 years — a commitment that when achieved will save LGBT lives across the country,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. “It’s no surprise that the DNC would attack this President and ignore the facts on World AIDS Day instead of honoring and remembering those we have lost,” he added.
The fight continues
In a proclamation for World AIDS Day issued on Nov. 27, it was noted that there are roughly 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and about 38 million worldwide, and while that was still far too many, it was also noted that innovative therapies had transformed the once fatal diagnosis into a manageable condition.
That statement also detailed the administration’s initiative to reduce new infections by 90% over the next 10 years and highlighted the cross-agency coordination of the Department of Health and Human Services and a number of other governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations to refocus efforts on combatting the disease, proving that this is something to which the president has fully committed people and resources in an entirely apolitical fashion.
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