Talk show host James Corden has blasted President Donald Trump for his apathy towards HIV and AIDS and said he’s sent Trump 297 copies of drama film Philadelphia to get him to pay attention.
Last week, six people resigned from the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS, explaining in an extraordinary editorial published by Newsweek that Trump and his administration “do not care” about the issue.
Speaking on The Late Late Show, Corden said he was concerned Trump’s inaction was getting lost in the whirlwind of other news stories about his administration.
“It’s important to remember that he is still the president of the United States, and it’s still his job to take action on issues,” Corden said.
“He’s shown he doesn’t care by taking down the the Office of National AIDS Policy’s website on the day that he took office.
“He’s refused to even appoint anybody to lead that office. And he’s proposed changes to healthcare that would devastate all marginalised Americans living with HIV and AIDS.
“Maybe Donald Trump doesn’t care because he’s never seen the movie Philadelphia.”
In the 1993 film, lawyer Samuel Beckett – played by Tom Hanks in an Oscar-winning role – sues his firm after they fire him for being HIV-positive.
Corden said he first learned about the AIDS epidemic from the film, and revealed his plan to try and open Trump’s eyes.
“To help find a way that Trump might even bring himself to care about this, today we’ve sent 297 copies of the movie Philadelphia to Trump’s Florida hotel, Mar-a-Lago,” he said.
Corden explained that was as many as his team could buy from several vendors and he encouraged viewers to send their own copies to the hotel.
“We hope that he’ll understand two things: Tom Hanks definitely deserved that Oscar, and that HIV and AIDS is something you, or any world leader for that matter, can never afford to ignore,” he said.
Watch Corden explain below:
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