Elton John says ending AIDS could make Donald Trump “one of the greatest Presidents in history”.
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In a new interview with Variety, John opened up about his desire to stop the global spread of AIDS and said President Trump could become “one of the greatest presidents in history” if he “ended AIDS.”
“There’s a big war that’s being settled, hopefully,” he said, in reference to the situation in Gaza. He continued: “But there’s another war with people who are suffering from HIV and AIDS that should be able to get their medicine but can’t, because governments won’t let them. It’s inhumane.”
He added: “My big beef at the moment is, yes, thank God, maybe there’s peace, after more things are sorted out. But there are crimes against millions of other people that are happening because of governments and stigma and hate.
“It’s so frustrating when you have the medicine, you have PrEP [Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis], you have the antiretrovirals. We can stop the spread of AIDS, if people just got off their backsides and treated human beings in a Christian kind of way.”
He added: “President Trump has maybe solved the peace problem…If he wants to go down as one of the greatest presidents in history… if he ended AIDS, that would really be a feather in his cap.”
Speaking about the Elton John AIDS Foundation – which John founded in 1992 and has since gone on to become one of the world’s leading independent AIDS/HIV charities, John continued: “People trust us because they see the results…We’ve now raised over $650million (£491million), but with matching grants, we’re over a billion dollars. But there’s so much more to be doing there.
“If there’s no dialogue, it may take much longer than we hope it will. You can’t walk away after coming so far. And sometimes you feel like beating your head against a brick wall, but that doesn’t do any good to the people that are suffering.”
Back in March, John warned that Trump’s cuts to the USAID budget would have “devastating effects” on the global response to HIV.
The US president announced on February 27 that his administration intended to wipe out more than 90 per cent of the US Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts, with Associated Press projecting that $60billion (£48billion) of US global aid spending to be axed.
Writing on Instagram on Saturday (March 1), John said the “abrupt decision” could have “devastating effects on the HIV response”.
A statement from the Foundation at the time read: “We are gravely concerned about the decision by the U.S. Administration to cut more than 90% of contracts held by USAID, many of which they had already deemed “lifesaving”. This abrupt action could have devastating effects on the HIV response and put years of progress in jeopardy”.
“Millions of people are alive today thanks to the generosity of the American people and because of effective programs like PEPFAR. Today they are unsure of when, or even if they will get the medicine they need to stay alive.”
PEPFAR is the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, established by George W. Bush in 2003. It provides access to antiretroviral treatment, which helps people living with HIV to manage the virus and stay alive.
A month after this, John also joined forces with Brandi Carlile to launch a campaign that tried to offset the Trump administration’s cuts to HIV/AIDS funding.
The duo, who released their collaborative album ‘Who Believes In Angels’ earlier this year, began working together on a joint venture between the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Carlile’s Looking Out Foundation.
Explaining the need for action, John said in a statement: “Without prompt action, decades of progress in the global fight against HIV could be reversed, creating a global health crisis that we have both the power and the tools to prevent.”
“Our mission is more important than ever – we refuse to leave anyone behind – and I’m so fortunate that Brandi is not only a wonderful collaborator and artist, but a dear friend who shares my vision of a world where HIV care is prioritised and protected.”
John has previously been cautious about giving a clear comment on Trump, although before the 2024 election, he did say: “I just want people to vote for things that are just, things that are important to people: the right to choose, the right to be who you are, and not let anybody else tell you who to be. And that goes all the way up to the Supreme Court.”
“I just hope that people make the right decision to see what the future is going to be,” he added. “Is it going to be fire and brimstone … or are we going to have a much calmer, a much safer place? People can vote for who they like, but as far as I’m concerned, I love love. And I’m a loving person, and I want that to come back to America. I feel it’s been lost in the last 12 years.”
He did, however, say that he thought Trump referring to Kim Jong Un as “little rocket man” was “brilliant”.
In other news, John was yesterday (November 26) announced as one of the headliners for next year’s Rock In Rio festival.