“I do not think it is either fair or accurate to say the President has gone back on his promises, as if this was a callous walking away. When he signed that petition saying he would support greater AIDS funding, it was before the American economy led the world into the worst financial crisis since the Depression. Since then, he has tried to keep his commitments,” he said.

Bill Clinton advised participants at the AIDS conference to lobby the U.S. Congress to increase AIDS spending. He says President Obama would never veto an increase in AIDS funding.