Six members of the President's advisory council on HIV/AIDS quit this week. They claimed in an article in Newsweek that President Trump just doesn't care about the disease.
There's a major problem with this story, however. None of the people who quit were appointed by Trump. They are left over Obama activists. The council moved to holding sporadic meetings a long time ago. In fact, the chair called only one meeting since Trump took office. The lack of meetings was not something mandated by the White House; it was just a sign that the council had stopped doing anything much. So now we get the big walk out to protest how President Trump supposedly just doesn't care about AIDS.
Oh, and there's one more thing that you need to know about the council. The members do not get paid; they are not government employees. They are advisors only, so by quitting they give nothing up.
I have no idea what President Trump thinks of AIDS and how to deal with it. I do know, however, what a political stunt looks like, and this is certainly one of those.
There's a major problem with this story, however. None of the people who quit were appointed by Trump. They are left over Obama activists. The council moved to holding sporadic meetings a long time ago. In fact, the chair called only one meeting since Trump took office. The lack of meetings was not something mandated by the White House; it was just a sign that the council had stopped doing anything much. So now we get the big walk out to protest how President Trump supposedly just doesn't care about AIDS.
Oh, and there's one more thing that you need to know about the council. The members do not get paid; they are not government employees. They are advisors only, so by quitting they give nothing up.
I have no idea what President Trump thinks of AIDS and how to deal with it. I do know, however, what a political stunt looks like, and this is certainly one of those.
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