On Sunday, World AIDS Day, President
Donald Trump promised to “eradicate AIDS in 10 years.”
Trump first announced a new AIDS
initiative in his annual proclamation recognizing December 1 as World
AIDS Day.
“Through this initiative, we will
continue to lead the charge in applying the latest science to better
diagnose, treat, care for, and save the lives of individuals living
with HIV by focusing on the cities and States most impacted by the
disease,” Trump said of his Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for
America initiative.
While the president outlined a strategy
to focus on the cities and states with the highest numbers of new
infections, his proclamation failed to mention the people most
impacted by the disease, namely men who have sex with men,
transgender people, and people who inject drugs.
(Related: Trump's
World AIDS Day proclamation again omits LGBT people.)
On Sunday, Trump reiterated his promise
in a tweet.
“On World AIDS Day, The First Lady
and I express our support for those living with HIV/AIDS and mourn
the lives lost,” the president 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.”
Trump has previously been criticized
for cutting budgets for AIDS programs.
(Related: HRC
president calls on Donald Trump, Jr. to apologize for “vile
HIV/AIDS tweet.”)