Billionaire Bill Gates spilled on his controversial three-hour dinner with President Donald Trump, just weeks before he took over the White House. The former Microsoft CEO said that the two discussed vaccines, curing H.I.V. and Operation Warp Speed, among other topics. Gates told Trump the importance of the PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) program, according to his newest interview with the New Yorker—but that didn’t stop the president from pausing its funding just days ago. Gates said that the president became “enthused” at his praises of Operation Warp Speed, and that he hoped for similar success in eradicating HIV. Despite his disappointment in Trump’s decision to pause funding for the massively successful PEPFAR program, Gates said that the president “couldn’t have been nicer” after their conversation. “I got his ear for three hours,” Gates said. “Doesn’t mean that other people won’t come in and say the H.I.V. money should be cut, but I did my best.”
