On April 19, former President George W. Bush presented ONE co-founder Bono with the first-ever George W. Bush Medal for Distinguished Leadership at an event in Dallas, Texas.
While widely viewed as strange bedfellows, Bono and President Bush have worked closely together for years in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
During a visit to the White House in 2002, Bono lobbied the president to lend financial support to organizations that were fighting the AIDS crisis in developing nations. President Bush soon launched PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), a bipartisan program that has since saved 13 million of lives.
The meeting kicked off the duo’s unlikely friendship, which culminated in mutual admiration on Thursday night as Bono and Bush traded compliments:
“It’s a huge honor to [win] this award,” Bono said Thursday, “and I’m here to honor your leadership on the greatest health intervention in the history of medicine.”
Bush responded, “The truth of the matter is, [PEPFAR] never would have made it out of Congress had you not been engaged.”
The two sat for a 45-minute long conversation on-stage at the event in Dallas. Here are five of our favorite moments:
President Bush explains the beginnings of his “bromance” with Bono:
Bono discusses President Trump risking surrendering the AIDS fight:
President Bush talks about how he joined (and soon after, led) the fight against AIDS:
Bono explains how Americans got behind the fight against AIDS:
Bono says Americans should be proud of their accomplishments in the fight against AIDS:
