Hillary Clinton tables meeting with HIV coalition in wake of damaging Reagan AIDS gaffe
Hillary Clinton is the first Presidential hopeful to accept an invitation to meet with a coalition of HIV/AIDS activists, in wake of a damaging slip on the issue.
Last month, Democratic Presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton was forced to apologise after she praised the late Nancy Reagan and husband Ronald Reagan for starting a “national conversation” on AIDS.
The Reagan White House is mainly remembered by activists for its callous disregard for the AIDS epidemic, with one chilling recording featuring Reagan’s press secretary laughing about gay people’s deaths.
The mix-up dented her lead on the issue, but Mrs Clinton is making a play to win back HIV activists, by accepting an invitation to meet with a coalition of HIV/AIDS charities that was extended to all Presidential candidates.
A letter from the former Secretary of State’s policy adviser confirms: “I’m writing in response to the community letter you and others sent on March 14, 2016 inviting Secretary Clinton to meet with the HIV and AIDS community to discuss how we can continue to work together to achieve our shared goal of an AIDS-free generation.
“As you know, the Secretary has fought for decades to combat HIV and AIDS, and she has included it as a priority issue in her campaign.
“Secretary Clinton is delighted to accept your invitation and is available to meet on May 13th in New York City to discuss how we can build on this agenda.
“We look forward to working with you to determine a convenient time, location, and list of participants for this meeting. To encourage an intimate, policy-focused discussion, our preference is to limit attendance to 12-15 participants.
“On behalf of Secretary Clinton and everyone at Hillary for America, thank you for your leadership in helping to organize this meeting.
“Dominic [Lowell, LGBT Outreach Director] and I are eager to work with you to invite a diverse group of leaders to participate, and would appreciate you conveying our thanks to the other signatories of the letter. ”
Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich have not yet responded to their invitations.
