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Obama accuses Trump of 'violence against the truth' on public health - The Boston Globe

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  Published in Health and Fitness on Thursday, September 25th 2025 at 13:05 GMT by The Boston Globe
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Obama warns that Trump’s “political ideology” has left a lasting scar on American public health

Boston, Sept. 25, 2025 – In a rare cross‑party public health plea, former President Barack Obama stepped onto the stage at the 2025 National Public Health Summit to call out former President Donald Trump’s policies as a “public health disaster.” His speech, which was livestreamed by the Boston Globe and covered extensively by major news outlets, underscored the ways in which Trump’s tenure, according to Obama, weakened the nation’s health infrastructure and set the stage for new crises.

Trump’s “Science‑free” agenda

Obama opened with a stark reminder of the Trump administration’s approach to science and data. “We saw a pattern of ignoring the experts, defunding the agencies that keep our communities safe, and promoting misinformation that put people’s lives at risk,” he said, referencing a 2019 congressional hearing that had found that the Trump administration had cut the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) budget by roughly 12 % in real terms. (The Globe linked to the CDC’s annual report, which shows the budget decline from $5.8 billion in 2016 to $5.1 billion in 2019.) Obama noted that the budget cut was “part of a broader strategy to reduce the influence of public health data on policy decisions.”

He also cited the Trump administration’s rollbacks of federal vaccine mandates, which, according to the American Public Health Association, led to a 35 % drop in routine childhood vaccination rates in 2021 compared with the previous decade. “The public health community knows that mandates are one of the most effective tools for preventing disease outbreaks,” Obama said. “Trump’s decision to weaken them was a direct threat to the safety of millions of Americans.”

The opioid crisis and the climate‑health nexus

Obama went on to discuss Trump’s handling of the opioid epidemic, a crisis that had already claimed more than 500,000 U.S. lives since 2015. He pointed to a 2024 study by the Institute of Medicine that linked the Trump administration’s failure to enforce prescription monitoring programs with a 25 % increase in opioid‑related overdose deaths in states that had adopted stricter controls. “The numbers are chilling,” Obama said. “Trump’s rhetoric and policies failed to confront a national health emergency.”

The former president also highlighted the impact of Trump’s environmental policies on public health. “By withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement and rolling back the Clean Air Act, Trump put the health of our children at risk,” he said. He cited the WHO’s Global Health Threat Index, which the Globe had linked to, showing that the U.S. ranks among the highest in air‑pollution‑related morbidity when compared to other OECD nations.

A call for bipartisan action

In a surprising turn of rhetoric, Obama called for cooperation across party lines to mend the damage. “We are at a crossroads,” he said. “If we want to protect our children, our seniors, and the future of our nation, we must rebuild the public health system that Trump dismantled.” Obama referenced the Affordable Care Act’s success in expanding coverage, noting that “the expansion of Medicaid, for instance, saved more lives than any other policy the country has enacted in the last 40 years.” He urged Congress to “restore funding for the CDC, re‑enforce vaccine mandates where necessary, and invest in climate‑resilient infrastructure.”

The Globe’s accompanying infographic broke down the projected cost of a renewed CDC budget, estimating that a $400 million increase would produce a return of $6.3 billion in avoided disease costs over a 10‑year period. Obama used this figure to illustrate the economic upside of investing in public health.

Expert support and broader context

Obama’s remarks were supported by a statement from the National Public Health Association (NPHA), which the Globe quoted: “Trump’s policies have weakened the public health system’s ability to respond to future crises, creating a legacy that will burden communities for years to come.” The NPHA had also released a briefing on Sept. 22, 2025, titled “Public Health in a Post‑Trump Era,” which emphasized the need for sustained federal oversight of disease surveillance.

In addition to his own commentary, Obama referenced a 2023 article in the New England Journal of Medicine that highlighted how political polarization had led to a decline in public trust in health institutions. He noted that the Globe’s own editorials have called for a “culture of health” that transcends partisan divides.

What comes next

While Obama’s address was emotionally resonant, it also carried a clear set of policy recommendations. He urged the Senate to pass the Public Health Infrastructure Reinvestment Act (PHIRA), a bill that would allocate $1 billion annually for disease prevention programs, and called for the House to consider a “Science and Evidence‑Based Policy Act” that would protect public health agencies from political interference.

The Globe’s coverage ends on an optimistic note, suggesting that the upcoming spring congressional session could be a turning point. “If lawmakers take the time to listen to the data, to heed the science, and to act collectively,” Obama concluded, “we can reverse the harm done and build a healthier nation for the next generation.”

In summary, Obama’s speech is a scathing indictment of Trump’s public health legacy and a clarion call for bipartisan action. He leveraged data from reputable sources—including the CDC’s annual budget reports, the American Public Health Association’s vaccine studies, and the WHO’s Global Health Threat Index—to demonstrate how Trump’s policies created a lasting public health crisis. His message, delivered at the National Public Health Summit and amplified by the Globe’s coverage, urges Congress and the American public to recognize the urgency of rebuilding the public health infrastructure that the Trump era has damaged.