After the White House unveiled a new U.S. Postal Service stamp honoring Nancy Reagan, people took to social media to resurface the controversial history of the former first lady and her husband. Reagan’s critics blasted the pair, saying it’s especially insulting to honor them during Pride Month because of their alleged lack of response to the AIDS epidemic and the death of thousands of LGBTQ+ people.
“Nancy Reagan alongside her husband ignored the AIDS epidemic and didn’t even mutter the word ‘AIDS’ until 25,000 Americans, mostly LGBTQ+ people died due to negligence,” researcher Jason Rosenberg tweeted. “There are no words to describe how misguided and repugnant it is to do this especially during Pride Month.”
Nancy Reagan alongside her husband ignored the AIDS epidemic and didn’t even mutter the word “AIDS” until 25,000 Americans, mostly LGBTQ+ people died due to negligence. There are no words to describe how misguided and repugnant it is to do this especially during Pride Month. https://t.co/acxT37kBXT
— Jason Rosenberg (@mynameisjro) June 6, 2022
Many more social media users expressed similar sentiments.
@FLOTUS disappointed in this.
— Clo Dene🇺🇦 (@TheClodene) June 7, 2022
Actually perfectly fitting for an administration that has been dropping mask requirements and asked essential workers to fend for themselves and get Omicron
— Trying to make anthro and ento hold hands longer (@AceFrmOutrSpace) June 7, 2022
Yup. And add disrespectful to that
— The Iconic APRIL (@aprilbrucker) June 7, 2022
Huge fail.
— JOHN JONES (@singerjohnjones) June 6, 2022
— Riley 🏳️🌈🏒🍻 (@Rileysdtr1) June 8, 2022
Some people said it would have been more acceptable to hold the ceremony when it’s not Pride Month.
I agree that they shouldn’t be doing this during Pride Month. My aunt died from AIDS. This is disrespectful! Why couldn’t they wait until October to do this since it’s national substance abuse prevention month which makes sense since she started the just say no campaign.
— Alyssa (@alyssabria) June 7, 2022
Still, many people prefer not to see the commemoration in any month.
Getting quotes/mentions that the administration should have waited until after Pride Month. No, there is no day in the calendar year the Reagan's should be celebrated
— Jason Rosenberg (@mynameisjro) June 7, 2022
Dr. Marcus Conant, one of the first physicians to diagnose and treat AIDS, attempted to raise awareness for the virus during a meeting with the White House liaison in 1983, The Guardian reports.
Conant said Reagan’s representative dismissed the concern, saying it was “a legal problem, not a medical problem” because gay men were breaking the law when choosing their partners.
Conant also wrote to the president in 1987.
“Dear President Reagan, I have all these patients and they are dying and no one’s doing anything. It is incumbent on your administration to direct the Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health to begin efforts to find the cause and treatment for this disease,” the medical expert said he wrote in the letter, according to The Guardian.
Former President Ronald Reagan, according to Conant, responded in a brief letter.
“Nancy and I thank you for your support,” the president allegedly wrote.
