Trump Promises To 'Eradicate AIDS' On World AIDS Day 2019

To mark World AIDS Day on December 1, president Donald Trump reiterated a promise he first made on February 4, during his 2019 State of the Union Address in Washington D.C. -- eliminating the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years, or by 2030.

"On World AIDS Day, The First Lady and I express our support for those living with HIV/AIDS and mourn the lives lost. We reaffirm our commitment to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic....," tweeted Trump in the first part of a two-part message Sunday.

"....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," said the second part.

As with all of Trump's 17,000 tweets since his official declaration of candidacy in June 2015, this one drew the usual mix of condemnation and praise.

"No way Donnie tweeted this," said a Trump non-fan. "Eradicate gave it away. Big word," tweeted another to second the previous tweet.

Another critic said, "Where is Trump? Who has his phone?!! There is no way Trump typed this. Is Trump in a padded room?" Someone commented in replying to @realDonaldTrump, "Yeah right, you have never shown compassion for anyone."

On the other side, someone tweeted: "Thank you President Trump. Many Americans have loved ones who have died from AIDS. It has been around for far too long."

This is the third time since February Trump has mentioned about his HIV promise. During his first ever mention about his decision to fight HIV/AIDS in February, Trump said, "Scientific breakthroughs have brought a once-distant dream within reach." He also said he'd set aside $500 million for research into pediatric cancer over 10 years.

The second time Trump mentioned his HIV fight was at a campaign rally in Cincinnati on August 1.

"The things we're doing in our country today, there's never been anything like it." said Trump at the Cincinnati rally. "We will be ending the AIDS epidemic shortly in America, and curing childhood cancer very shortly."

This time, however, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar provided details of Trump's HIV initiative after Trump’s announcement. Azar said the administration will target viral hot spots by providing local groups more resources. Health authorities will also use data to track the spread of HIV and create local task forces to bolster prevention and treatment.

Azar said the plan seeks to reduce new infections by 75 percent in the next five years and 90 percent in the next decade. He revealed Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland are among 57 jurisdictions targeted under a plan Trump unveiled in his State of the Union address. Trump proposed spending $291 million to start the initiative.