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In his State of the Union address in February of this year, President Donald Trump said:
"Together, we will defeat AIDS in America."
He promised to end the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years.
On December 1—World AIDS day—Trump reiterated that promise in a tweet.
The words are nice, but the Trump administration's actions to back them up are scarce. In fact, they seem to be working against it, if the President's proposed budget is any indication.
In addition to endangering institutions like the Affordable Care Act, which facilitate getting care for people living with HIV and AIDS, Trump proposed slashing funding for global prevention program.
It also proposes cutting the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, established during the W. Bush administration, by nearly 30 percent.
Trump's tweet came barely a week after his son, Donald Trump Jr., implied that having sex with HIV positive people is inherently dangerous.
Well I can think of one thing. https://t.co/A34xY74OYc— Donald Trump Jr. (@Donald Trump Jr.) 1574538947.0
The Democratic National Committee was quick to rebuke Trump's hypocrisy in a joint statement:
"This president is no ally of people living with HIV, who are disproportionately LGBTQ and people of color. His administration has proposed cutting global HIV-prevention programs and attacked health care services that people living with HIV rely on, including the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and Planned Parenthood."
Others echoed the DNC's concerns.
@realDonaldTrump cool story bro https://t.co/MBeSMWkEIl— Jeff Tiedrich (@Jeff Tiedrich) 1575225299.0
@realDonaldTrump Your sincerity is suspect considering your track record.— Michael Petty (@Michael Petty) 1575225686.0
@realDonaldTrump But you want to take away health insurance from many and those that have insurance most likely wil… https://t.co/SM3UkC8X9g— Trish (@Trish) 1575265249.0
@realDonaldTrump YET YOU CUT FUNDING FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID. ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.— Therese McNally (@Therese McNally) 1575272243.0
Not only did people doubt the sincerity of Trump's statement.
They were pretty sure he didn't even write it.
@realDonaldTrump You did not write this, nor do I think you believe in any part of it, most especially the mourning of lives lost.— slippery slope (@slippery slope) 1575301986.0
@realDonaldTrump Donny didn't write this. He doesn't know the word "eradicate," and he certainly couldn't spell it.— Ob Askin (@Ob Askin) 1575269365.0
Over a million people in the United States are living with HIV.