Madonna pens scathing post against Trump for 'unthinkable' decision to ignore World AIDS Day

Singer Madonna attacked President Donald Trump for no longer commemorating World AIDS Day Monday Madonna referenced the day in an Instagram post and remarked that the Trump administration did not promote the day the first time the U S did not commemorate World AIDS Day since it was established in Donald Trump has publicized that World AIDS Day should no longer be acknowledged Madonna wrote It s one thing to order federal agents to refrain from commemorating this day but to ask the general populace 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 ELTON JOHN REVEALS WHAT WOULD MAKE TRUMP ONE OF THE 'GREATEST PRESIDENTS' IN HISTORYShe added The list of people that I have known and loved and lost to AIDS is pretty long I'm sure various of you out there can relate Let me say 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 News outlets shared days earlier that the U S State Department would no longer acknowledge World AIDS Day a decision the State Department later defended in a report 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 stated Earlier this year we issued a global medical strategy aimed at streamlining America s foreign assistance and modernizing our approach to countering infectious diseases TRUMP S GLOBAL WELLNESS STRATEGY COULD MARK A TURNING POINT IN THE AIDS BATTLEIn an earlier comment to Fox News Digital White House spokesman Kush Desai described continuing efforts by the Trump administration to combat AIDS The State Department is working directly with foreign governments to implement a global wellness strategy to streamline America s foreign assistance and modernize our approach to countering infectious diseases like HIV Desai explained He continued HHS meanwhile is advancing next-generation HIV prevention and rehabilitation options strengthening viral suppression nationwide via HRSA s Ryan White campaign supporting exigency preparedness and expanding access to trusted HIV information TRUMP ADMIN PLANNING TO CONSOLIDATE HIV PROGRAMS SLASHING 'OVERHEAD' AND DEI OFFICIALThe U S Food and Drug Administration FDA under the Trump administration also approved in June a new twice-yearly shot from Gilead Sciences a U S private sector biopharmaceutical company to prevent the spread of HIV AIDS The shot was nearly effective in preventing the spread of HIV in clinical trials and was shown to be superior to past drugs Trump has previously stated his goal of eradicating the complaint by announcing an initiative to end HIV during his first term in However the Trump administration has also sought to cut funding from the President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief PEPFAR in the president's original rescissions package back in July Senate Republicans later agreed to preserve PEPFAR funding