The Trump administration is turning its back on millions by telling federal workers to ignore World AIDS Day this year.
The order went out in a State Department email to employees telling them not to promote World AIDS Day “through any communication channels” and not to put federal funds toward events tied to the day.
They’re calling this a blanket rule about all “commemorative days.” I’m calling it bullsh*t. Trump has no problem signing proclamations when they fit his politics. What’s getting ditched here is World AIDS Day itself, a day the United States has officially recognized every year since 1988 under both Republican and Democratic presidents, including Trump in his first term.
This is also happening at the same time that his team is cutting HIV funding around the world. PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, has poured more than 100 billion dollars into treatment and prevention in over 50 countries since George W. Bush launched it in 2003. Public health researchers say recent cuts and delays have already meant well over a hundred thousand additional adult deaths and thousands of infant deaths tied to HIV and AIDS.
If you remember the Reagan years, this silence sounds familiar. Powerful people not wanting to say the word “AIDS,” and hoping the rest of the country would stop paying attention too. Silence = Death” came out of that moment. It’s not a slogan, it’s a warning about what happens when a government looks away.
West Hollywood knows that story already. The City came into being in 1984 with HIV and AIDS all around it. Residents, caregivers, and activists answered the call long before there were quilt panels on the White House lawn. They didn’t have the luxury of looking away. So the idea that our federal government is turning away from World AIDS Day in 2025 is nothing short of shameful.
Earlier this month, WEHOonline laid out the local plans in “World AIDS Day West Hollywood 2025: Quilt, Monument, Warrior Awards.” A panel from the AIDS Memorial Quilt is set to hang inside council chambers at 625 N. San Vicente. The Paul Andrew Starke Warrior Awards will return on December 10, recognizing people and organizations doing day in, day out HIV work in this community. Residents are being invited to walk the AIDS Memorial Walk along Santa Monica Boulevard, where bronze plaques in the sidewalk carry names and stories that never made it into any federal briefing.
World AIDS Day itself will bring people into West Hollywood Park. At STORIES, The AIDS Monument, APLA Health’s Writers Group and others will host an evening of readings and reflection, which we previewed in “World AIDS Day West Hollywood, Stories At The AIDS Monument, ONE Gallery.”
The monument itself has been a major focus this year. In “From Loss To Legacy, West Hollywood’s AIDS Monument Has A Story To Tell,” we walked through how long it took to get from idea to construction and why people here would not let it die on paper. In “STORIES, The AIDS Monument Opens, Remembering Lives Lost, Honoring Survivors, Celebrating Community,” we were there on opening night, watching people stand under the traces, touch the metal, and listen to names while the weather did whatever it wanted. None of that came from a federal talking point. It came from people in this city who were tired of grief being invisible.
So there are two very different stories running side by side this year. In Trump’s Washington, the administration is telling its own to pretend World AIDS Day is just another date on the calendar, even as its budget cuts hit HIV programs around the world. In West Hollywood, we have a community and its local government showing up and speaking loudly.
For the people whose partners, friends, and family members were touched by AIDS, December 1 is not some culture war talking point. It is a day to say plainly that HIV is still here, treatment is still not equal, stigma still costs lives, and silence still equals death.
Trump may continue to turn his back. West Hollywood will always face forward.
Maybe DJT just prioritizes and chooses not to focus on virtue signaling to the sheeple…
He is results driven:
He has made PreP FREE for ANYONE not covered or without insurance…
Which is more important?
Anyone ever think about that?
WHat is your point?
Starting in January, Medi-Cal will not be covering GL-P meds. The notice sent out from the state encourages lifestyle changes… PreP is still covered. I will have to curtail my eating for pleasure unless I am willing to pay the price. Trump/Newsom are deaf on the struggles of the metabolically challenged.
Unfortunately we have forgotten just how deep the devastation was when AIDS ravaged West Hollywood. Maybe it is just a combination of trauma and survivor’s guilt. Denial and self medication was pretty common as the reality was truly terrifying. The timing of dedication of the AIDS Memorial has come at just the right moment as the Trump administration is doing all it can to gut this country’s response to the ongoing HIV struggle.
It seems we have forgotten a great deal and we are wrong doing so! AIDS is still out there and so is the crook in the WH. This is the time to make our voices heard. The real and imediate threat toEVERYONE in this country is now! WE MUST see what’s happening and take care of it NOW. Thank you Steve for speaking out.
Brian, Steve, and Chloe-
Thank you for sharing your valuable perspectives and raising your voices!
I am blessed to have HIV positive friends in good health, and can remember when that outcome was unlikely.
I hope our next President does better by the LGBT+ community.