We all know Donald Trump says a lot of stupid shit. Sometimes it’s amusing, other time’s it’s unsettling, but it’s never really surprising. Case in point? A newly surfaced video in which Bill Gates claims Trump didn’t know the difference between HPV and HIV.
The clip, which aired Thursday night during MSNBC’s All in With Chris Hayes, shows the Microsoft founder addressing the crowd at a Gates Foundation event earlier this year. He spoke about the first time he ever met Trump and the two meetings he had with him following the 2016 election. One of the meetings occurred during the presidential transition, and the other in 2017.
“Both times he wanted to know if there was a difference between HPV and HIV,” Gates said in the video. “So I was able to explain that those were rarely confused with each other.”
HPV, human papillomavirus, is a common sexually transmitted infection that generally causes no symptoms. Though HPV typically goes away on its own, there are rare cases in which the infection can result in genital warts or cervical cancer.
HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, is the disease that causes AIDS.
Gates said on both occasions that Trump had also asked him what he though about vaccines.
“In both of those two meetings, he asked me if vaccines weren’t a bad thing, because he was considering a commission to look into the ill effects of vaccines,” Gates said. “[…] And I said, ‘No, that’s a dead end. That would be a bad thing, don’t do that.’”
If you need a good laugh—or a cry—check out the video above.
Several weeks ago, Gates told STAT News, that POTUS had offered him a job as the White House science adviser. The billionaire tech mogul was reportedly, like, “nah.”
“That's not a good use of my time," Gates said he told Trump. “I didn't put him to the test, whether that was a serious thing or not. He probably himself didn't know if he was serious. It was a friendly thing. He was being friendly.”
