Biden White House Covid coordinator Ashish Jha admitted during a press conference on Monday that LGBT community is the group “most affected” by the monkeypox outbreak, and warned audiences to “not use this moment to propagate homophobic or transphobic messaging.”
“I wanted to go back to monkeypox and ask what the government’s response is to some of the backlash regarding the messaging and language that could perpetuate homophobia and transphobia like we saw during the HIV epidemic?” a reporter asked.
“Are there specific things you’re concerned about?” Jha replied. “I mean, I think, very clear at this point, that the community most affected most affected is the LGBTQ community. Um, this is one of the reasons we’ve been deeply engaged with them.”
“You know, obviously it’s really important that we do not use this moment to propagate homophobic or transphobic messaging, and i think that it’s really important to stick to the science, stick to the evidence, and do it in a way that’s respectable to people,” he added.
White House adviser Dr. Ashish Jha on monkeypox: "I think very clear at this point that the community most affected is the LGBTQ community. […] It's really important that we do not use this moment to propagate homophobic or transphobic messaging, […] stick to the science." pic.twitter.com/ynOuki5Rnh
— The Hill (@thehill) July 26, 2022
President Joe Biden revealed earlier this month that every time he hears the US presidential anthem “Hail to the Chief” he starts wondering “where the hell” is the Chief in question (“Chief” is supposed to refer to the President himself).
“Well folks, uh, you don’t have to stand, every time I hear ‘Hail to the Chief’ I wonder ‘where the hell is he?’” Biden announced to the audience. “Took me a long while.”
“You think I’m joking, I’m not,” Biden clarified. “I turn around and [say], ‘Where, where, where’s the President?’”
Biden’s clarification is especially important because aides and corporate journalists often rush to Twitter to claim that he is just “joking” when he delivers a strange line or indulges in a trademark verbal gaffe.
