A second HIV patient has reportedly shaken the disease, ten years after reports of the first man to be cured, Timothy Brown of Berlin. The wonders of science are giving hope to 3.9 million people living with the disease worldwide.
Sharing in the good news is Donald J. Trump, who took to Twitter to share his excitement in the scientific breakthrough made in London.
“HIV Is Cured In 2nd Patient, Doctors Report.” @nytimes Such great news for so many. Tremendous progress being made!”
“HIV Is Cured In 2nd Patient, Doctors Report.” @nytimes Such great news for so many. Tremendous progress being made!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2019
At his State of the Union address, Trump promised to defeat AIDS in 10 years even though his administration has actually worked against AIDS vaccine research as well as HIV prevention.
Trump’s hypocrisy in making such statements have not gone unnoticed, as journalistic legend Dan Rather took a shot at him on Twitter today.
“Many people including the president are cheering news of HIV cure in 2nd patient. You know what happened? SCIENCE. Science isn’t a goal, it’s a process of knowledge. And it applies to vaccines, climate change, and the wonder of understanding our universe and natural world.”
Many people including the president are cheering news of HIV cure in 2nd patient. You know what happened? SCIENCE. Science isn’t a goal, it’s a process of knowledge. And it applies to vaccines, climate change, and the wonder of understanding our universe and natural world.
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) March 5, 2019
After all, if Trump truly appreciates the science required to eradicate HIV from a patient for 18 months, then why did Trump’s administration do this, according to Towleroad:
“In December 2017, Trump fired his entire Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS with no warning. He defunded NIH vaccine research efforts and his past budgets have also requested additional cuts in funding to fight HIV/AIDS that Congress has refused.”
Also, why did Trump pick the homophobic Vice President as his running mate, a man who won’t even mention the LGBTQ community in relation to World AIDS Day.
“Vice President Mike Pence said in 2000 that he was in favor of sending money allocated to care for people with HIV/AIDS to organizations that provide gay conversion therapy, and this year failed to mention the LGBTQ community in his World AIDS Day speech for the second year in a row.”
As Pence tries to ignore the LGBTQ community altogether, Trump has made ignoring climate change one of his signature approaches to policy.
If he can appreciate the science used to approach a cure for HIV, why can’t he similarly appreciate the science that leads almost all scientists to the conclusion that we must move to clean energy to avoid global catastrophe?
Trump’s administration will go down in history for denying the findings of scientists and rather working to contaminate the environment in unthinkable ways. But as Rather notes, you can’t separate the findings about HIV from the findings about climate change. They are both problems addressed through the same scientific process.
So Trump’s cherry-picked Tweet about science only serves to reveal that he is selective about scientific findings, as are many Republicans. They like it when it’s convenient to like it, which is just how they approach the Bible.
Republicans refuse to acknowledge science when it suggests changes they don’t like, like moving to clean energy, for example.
When it comes to the global problem of climate change, Trump makes stupid comments that cold snaps in the weather indicate there is no problem at all. Just like the Russia “witch hunt” it’s all one big “hoax.”
Discarding the truth is such an easy thing for this POTUS and that in itself is really a national emergency.
In response to Trump and other pundits who reject science when it suits them, even at the potential peril of the whole freaking planet, Dand Rather had a comeback to that as well.
The subject isn’t up for debate and for dancing around anymore. If they insist on denying the problem exists, we must point out they no longer live in reality – as ridiculous as it is.
“When someone starts an argument with ‘I’m not a scientist, but…’ maybe we should stop listening to them weighing in on science. And maybe news shows should stop asking these pundits to talk about something they’re not qualified to talk about.”
When someone starts an argument with "I'm not a scientist, but…" maybe we should stop listening to them weighing in on science. And maybe news shows should stop asking these pundits to talk about something they’re not qualified to talk about.
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) November 26, 2018
“I believe science should be subject to policy discussions. But we can’t have pundits/politicians confusing the public about scientific consensus,” Rather said. “How should we respond to climate change? Let’s debate. Scientists are part of a conspiracy: & climate change isn’t real? Not a debate.”
I believe science should be subject to policy discussions. But we can't have pundits/politicians confusing the public about scientific consensus. How should we respond to climate change? Let's debate. Scientists are part of a conspiracy: & climate change isn't real? Not a debate.
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) November 26, 2018
More on Dan Rather’s thoughts about Trump’s State of the Union, which ignored critical science below:
Video: On ‘The News with Dan Rather’ on far-left @TheYoungTurks channel on YouTube, @DanRather whines Trump’s #SOTU won’t address “three million people who no longer have health insurance,” climate change, social justice, “shattered families” of those deported. #TTT pic.twitter.com/gtMwXT4kHe
— Brent Baker (@BrentHBaker) January 29, 2018
Featured image: Screenshot via YouTube with Rather via Twitter
