An Epidemic of Presidential Ignorance: The AIDS Crisis and the US Presidency
‘Epidemic’ is a powerful word. For something to be deemed an ‘epidemic’, it suggests something has gone terribly wrong. The ongoing response to COVID-19 has attracted a wide array of criticism from medical professionals, politicians and the American public. From downplaying the severity of COVID-19 to neglecting testing protocols and relief packages, it might appear that Donald Trump’s indifferent approach to COVID-19 broke new ground in overlooking a rapid response to a national health emergency. Perhaps most troubling of all, however, is that such a precedent was not new. The problematic response to the COVID-19 pandemic draws on an established tradition of poor health crisis policymaking, reinforcing the reality that the teachings of the 1980s AIDS epidemic remain unheeded today. Ronald Reagan’s response – or lack thereof – to the AIDS Crisis of the 1980s is a compelling example of presidential ignorance. Undoubtably problematic, the Reagan administration was slow to […]