Pop superstar Madonna delivered a stinging rebuke to President Donald Trump on Monday (December 1, 2025) following reports that his administration ordered federal agencies to cease public recognition of World AIDS Day, ending a 37-year bipartisan tradition of presidential observance.
The criticism comes after the State Department reportedly issued an internal directive instructing employees and grantees to “refrain from messaging on any commemorative days,” specifically singling out the December 1 observance. This policy shift effectively silences federal communication regarding the ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis, a move that has drawn sharp condemnation from health advocates and human rights organizations globally.
Taking to Instagram, Madonna, a longtime activist for HIV/AIDS awareness since the height of the epidemic in the 1980s, expressed outrage at the administration’s decision. She characterized the move as an erasure of history and a dishonor to the millions of lives lost to the disease.
“It’s one thing to order federal agents to refrain from commemorating this day, but to ask the general public to pretend it never happened is ridiculous, it’s absurd, it’s unthinkable,” Madonna wrote in her statement.
The singer, who lost close friends to the virus during the early years of the crisis, shared a personal and visceral memory to highlight the gravity of the day. “I bet he’s never watched his best friend die of AIDS, held their hand and watched the blood drain from their face as they took their last breath at the age of 23,” she stated.
Conversely, the Trump administration defended the policy change as a shift toward tangible results over symbolic gestures. In a statement to the press, a State Department spokesperson argued that the focus should remain on policy implementation rather than public relations. “An awareness day is not a strategy,” the spokesperson said. “Under the leadership of President Trump, the State Department is working directly with foreign governments to save lives and increase their responsibility and burden sharing.”
(Photo by Timm/face to face)
Despite this justification, critics argue that the silence sends a dangerous message at a time when global funding for HIV/AIDS programs, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), faces potential cuts. The lack of federal acknowledgement marks the first time since the observance was established in 1988 that the United States government has declined to officially recognize the day.
Madonna closed her message with a pledge of continued advocacy, urging her followers to fill the void left by federal silence. “I refuse to acknowledge that these people have died in vain,” she declared. “And I will continue to honor World AIDS Day, and I hope you will honor it with me.”