President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden made an emotional commemoration of World AIDS Day at the White House on Sunday, expressing empathy with the families who have lost loved ones and “feeling a special obligation to use this sacred place to reassure everyone.” seen.”
Behind Biden, a giant red ribbon was hung in the south portico and the AIDS Memorial Quilt was placed across the South Lawn. The quilt now has 50,000 panels with 110,000 names and weighs 54 tons. It was the first time visible in the meadow.
“Like the first threads of this quilt … this movement is completely woven into the fabric and history of America,” Biden said. “In light of the memory and legacy of all the sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, partners and friends we have lost to this terrible disease.”
The president and first lady were visibly emotional during the event, with the president occasionally wiping tears from his face during Jill Biden’s remarks and the first lady choking up as she spoke in front of their families and supporters.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a World AIDS Day event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, December 1, 2024.
Annabelle Gordon/Getty Images
“And even though we’re strangers, we know the unspeakable truth about each other, that we’ll spend the rest of our lives longing for a face that’s gone forever,” said Jill Biden, who had to pause for a moment. “And that when they left our world, they took a light from within us with them.”
“When I look at this beautiful quilt of her vibrant colors, in big letters, the names of the representations of life and love, I see myself as a mother, and I think of the mothers who sewed their pain into a patchwork panel of the world. Their child was not a victim of a terrible disease. will remember, but as a son who played in the high school jazz band, who grew up to serve our country proudly in uniform, as a daughter whose favorite holiday was Christmas”, he continued.
President Biden is no stranger to grief and often refers to his own loss at similar events. He acknowledged Sunday that while the event was a celebration of those lives lost, “they bring back all the memories.”
“They are tough. It’s not easy. It’s important, but it’s not easy.”
He said the White House ceremony sends a “clear message” to the world that the United States is united in the fight against the epidemic.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a World AIDS Day event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, December 1, 2024.
Annabelle Gordon/Getty Images
“Together, we honor the spirit of resilience and incredible strength of individuals, families and communities affected by HIV/AIDS. Including the nearly 40 million people living with HIV in the world today,” he said.
Biden pointed to the “stigma of misinformation” and the failure of the US government to act as the epidemic raged, adding “the pain and trauma to a community that is watching a generation of loved ones and friends die.”
“It was terribly, terribly wrong,” he said.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk through sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on the South Lawn of the White House to mark World AIDS Day on December 1, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
Biden highlighted the progress made during his administration in the fight against HIV/AIDS and against the stigma of discrimination against the HIV community. He also paid attention to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who attended the event, for his major efforts in his career to advance the fight.
As he prepared leave for Africa In the afternoon, Biden credited former President George W. Bush with PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan, for improving outcomes for people living with HIV on the African continent and saving more than 26 million lives worldwide.
Biden said he plans to ask Congress to reauthorize five years of PEPFAR to sustain that progress before he leaves office in January.
