Madonna Rebukes Trump Not Acknowledging World AIDS Day
Pop singer Madonna rebuked President Trump not acknowledging World AIDS Day this year – the first since 1988.
Last week, the U.S. State Department sent an email to employees saying that the “U.S. Government will not be commemorating World AIDS Day this year,” adding that government funds could not be used to commemorate the day in any way. Employees were also told they must “refrain from publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels, including social media, media engagements, speeches or other public-facing messaging.”
“An awareness day is not a strategy. Under the leadership of President Trump, the State Department is working directly with foreign governments to save lives and increase their responsibility and burden sharing,” State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement. “Earlier this year, we released a global health strategy aimed at streamlining America’s foreign assistance and modernizing our approach to countering infectious diseases.”
Madonna issued her message on Instagram, arguing that AIDS has affected people of all walks of life around the world.
“Today is World AIDS Day. For four decades, this day has been internationally recognized around the world by people from all walks of life, because millions of people’s lives have been touched by the HIV crisis,” Madonna wrote. “People have lost lovers and husbands and wives and girlfriends and boyfriends and mothers and daughters and children to this deadly disease, of which there is still no cure.”
Madonna further said that the Trump administration not issuing a statement of acknowledgement indicates it wants the “general public to pretend it never happened”
“Donald Trump has announced that World AIDS Day should no longer be acknowledged,” she wrote. “It’s one thing to order federal agents to refrain from commemorating this day, but to ask the general public to pretend it never happened is ridiculous, it’s absurd, it’s unthinkable. I bet he’s never watched his best friend die of AIDS, held their hand, and watched the blood drain from their face as they took their last breath at the age of 23.”
“The list of people that I have known and loved and lost to AIDS is pretty long. I’m sure many of you out there can relate,” she continued. “Let me say it one more time — there still isn’t a cure for AIDS and people still die from it. I refuse to acknowledge that these people have died in vain. And I will continue to honor World AIDS Day, and I hope you will honor it with me.”
According to Entertainment Weekly, World AIDS Day is one “11 official global public health campaigns from the World Health Organization.”
The Trump administration commemorated World AIDS Day throughout the president’s first term.
“Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, more than 76 million people around the world have become infected with HIV and 35 million have died from AIDS,” read an official White House statement in 2017. “As of 2014, 1.1 million people in the United States are living with HIV. On this day, we pray for all those living with HIV, and those who have lost loved ones to AIDS.”
Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan’s cinematic take on THE ODYSSEY has everyone losing their minds, but what if he directed A CHRISTMAS CAROL instead? Check out this hilarious trailer to see for yourself, or just follow along on socials – Instagram: @prolandfilms; X: @prolandfilms; YouTube: @prolandfilms.
