Clinton Just Said Nancy Reagan Helped Start ‘A National Conversation’ About AIDS, Which Is Insane

Democratic Candidate Accused of Re-Writing History

Hillary Clinton Friday afternoon credited Nancy Reagan with helping to start a national conversation about HIV/AIDS. 

“It may be difficult for your viewers to remember how difficult it was for people to talk about HIV/AIDS in the 1980s,” Clinton told MSNBC while attending the former First Lady’s funeral at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

“And because of President and Mrs. Reagan – in particular Mrs. Reagan – we started a national converation, when before, nobody would talk about it, nobody wanted to do anything about it. That too is something that I really appreciate, with her very effective low-key advocacy. But it penetrated the public conscience, and people began to say, ‘Hey, we have to do something about this too.'”

Late President Reagan and the late First Lady are widely remembered as having ignored the HIV/AIDS crisis, allowing what some say are countless more deaths as a result of their refusal to act. Many believe had the disease been prevalent among non-minority citizens it would have received far greater attention and funding. During last year’s Ebola fear, the federal and state governments mobilized even before there was a single case in the U.S., leaving many to ask why that didn’t happen under Reagan’s watch, for people with HIV/AIDS.

Many took to social media immediately to express outrage and refute the claim.

Attorney and journalist Glenn Greenwald:

Buzzfeed Legal Editor Chris Geidner, who points to his story about the Reagan White House ignoring their friend Rock Hudson’s pleas for help, weeks before his death:

Human Rights Campaign president and Clinton supporter Chad Griffin:

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who kept her response short:

Others, too:

The New Civil Rights Movement has reached out to the Clinton campaign for comment but has yet to receive a response.