U.S. President Donald Trump put his vice president, Mike Pence, in charge of fighting the coronavirus last night. Some Americans have reservations, because under Pence, when he was governor, Indiana had the biggest outbreak of HIV ever.
In recent days, the White House has been accused by the Democrats, among others, of taking too little or too late action against the new coronavirus in America. During the press conference, Trump mostly tried to refute these allegations.
“Because of everything we’ve done, the risk to Americans remains very low,” said the president. According to him, the number of corona infections in the U.S. could even drop to zero within a few days. The White House asked Congress earlier this week to release $2.5 billion to combat the corona crisis. Now Trump has also appointed his vice-president Mike Pence to coordinate the measures taken.
Mike has talent
Mike will work with professionals, doctors, and everyone else who is working. The team is brilliant, Trump emphasizes. He spent a lot of time with them in the last few weeks. “Mike has a talent for this.”
Americans on Twitter think differently. They have reservations about the decision because they hold Mike Pence responsible for an HIV outbreak in 2015 in the state of Indiana when he was governor. One of the leading investigators of this HIV outbreak expressed his concern on Twitter: “This is not a good idea and speaks to a lack of seriousness by the White House.”
Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes that Mike Pence does not believe in science and that it is irresponsible for the White House to indicate him, she says on Twitter. “This decision could cost people their lives. Pence’s past decisions already have,” she warns.
HIV outbreak
When Mike Pence was governor of the state of Indiana, he made savings on Planned Parenthood in 2011. Planned Parenthood is an advisory center that provides information about abortion, something that Pence is opposed to, but people could also get tested for HIV.
In a county within Indiana, the only center that tested for HIV was closed. In 2015, the number of infections in the county rose sharply as drug users shared used needles with each other. It took four months for Mike Pence to take measures to stop the HIV outbreak. At peak times, the number of infections even increased by 20 cases per week.
