Why did she lie about Nancy Reagan's involvement with the AIDS crisis? Why THAT lie?

[MADem]

12. The Reagans DID put the spotlight on AIDS--both funding and research.

Anyone who was alive during that time remembers the "AIDS issue" in the context of Ronald W. Reagan.

Stage plays and movies (Angels in America, Dallas Buyers Club, And The Band Played On, Philadelphia, etc.) have been created that artfully memorialize that era, and the Reagan backdrop that made possible all the drama and agony.

You can't think about the early days of the HIV epidemic, back when everyone in the English speaking world used "AIDS" as the shorthand for everything from infection to "full-blown;" and not think of the Reagan administration.

He DID advance the conversation, and the fundraising, and the research, but not by being supportive, but by being a total asshole.

I certainly wouldn't call it a "lie." It's a matter of perspective and sense-memory. The Reagans DID advance that conversation, make no mistake. And I do believe that Nancy caused RR to soften his objections, if only grudgingly.

Anyone who makes hay out of this comment for the purposes of trying to gain political advantage is exposing themselves in an unflattering way, to put it kindly.