President Biden just rectified yet another Donald Trump debacle
International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) has been an annual global observance since the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the day in 1992. Falling each year on December 3, IDPD aims to promote disability rights and awareness in all aspects of life. With over 1 billion of the world’s 8 billion people having some form of disability, it’s no wonder 185 countries have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including the United States in 2009.
In 2010, President Barack Obama honored IDPD by pointing to the importance of this treaty as well as concrete steps his administration has taken to promote equal rights and dignity for Americans with disabilities. Among other things, Obama created a position of Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the State Department and named disability rights advocate Judith Heumann to fill the role that year.
Heumann’s tenure ended on January 20, 2017—the day Donald Trump took office—and he left the office vacant throughout his failed term. Given that it was created by Obama and aims to safeguard disability rights, no one should have expected otherwise. In late 2015, the proud ableist flailed his arms to mock reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has a congenital joint condition called arthrogryposis, then insisted, “I didn’t know what he looked like. I didn’t know he was disabled.” This is despite the fact that, according to Kovaleski, “Donald and I were on a first-name basis for years.”
In 2016, Trump further defended himself by dragging out his supposed disability rights bona fides. In a Fox News interview, Trump claimed he spends “millions of dollars making buildings good for people that are disabled.” Assuming that’s true, it’s simply called compliance with accessibility laws, and it’s a legal requirement of every real estate developer—not some sort of charitable deed or sign of heartfelt beneficence.
In a proclamation for IDPD 2023 this Monday, President Joe Biden noted that he reestablished the Special Advisor position “so that the needs of disabled people are consistently represented in foreign policy.” Biden also detailed how his administration considers the “dignity and rights of disabled Americans” with each policy, from the American Rescue Plan and Medicaid expansion to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which has meant that “more disabled Americans can work, study, and stay connected from home.”
Trump surprised many Republicans this past week by declaring that he would again prioritize repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), saying it “sucks” without offering a viable alternative. As Trump was trying to get Congress to gut the whole law, he also pursued evil steps, such as trying to dismantle ACA regulations that protect people with disabilities against discrimination in healthcare. While Biden has pledged that he “won’t let [the ACA crumble] on my watch,” it’s up to us voters to make sure Biden remains the one keeping that watch. In a second Trump administration, dignity is on the chopping block.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month