Little Boy Tries To Hug Trump 3 Times, Trump Notices and Gives Him 3 Hugs Back
It was the signing of one of the most important pieces of legislation for terminally ill patients in decades, and a little boy wanted to hug President Donald Trump for it. When he noticed, the president gave him three hugs back.
It all happened as Trump was about to put his signature upon the “Right to Try” bill, a piece of legislation that allows terminally ill patients to access medications that aren’t yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Patients would previously have to ask the FDA for approval.
According to The Hill, the legislation was a major aim of both the White House and congressional Republicans. However, another major supporter was Indiana Democrat Sen. Joe Donnelly, a moderate who faces a tough reelection campaign in a conservative state.
In spite of the fact that Trump called Donnelly a “really incredible swamp person” earlier in the month, he thanked him for working on the bill.
“Thousands of terminally ill Americans will finally have hope, and the fighting chance, and I think it’s going to better than a chance, that they will be cured, they will be helped, and be able to be with their families for a long time, or maybe just for a longer time,” Trump said at the signing.
However, it was what a young boy did at the signing that perhaps went the most viral. (Watch the video above.)
According to CBS News, the 8-year-old boy is named Jordan McLinn, and he stands to benefit in a major way from the new legislation.
“McLinn has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a degenerative genetic disease. Symptoms first appear at 3 to 5 years of age, and children afflicted with DMD are likely to be wheelchair-bound by the age of 12,” CBS reported.
“Life expectancy was until recently very short — many did not survive beyond their teen years, according to the DMD website. But advances in care have extended life expectancy into the early 30s and longer in recent years.
“Supporters say the legislation Mr. Trump signed Thursday could help McLinn get access to experimental drugs and treatments not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”
Democrats, predictably, have opposed the legislation, arguing that dying people shouldn’t be able to risk being taken advantage of.
“FDA oversight of access to experimental treatments exists for a reason — it protects patients from potential snake oil salesmen or from experimental treatments that might do more harm than good,” said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., a New Jersey Democrat.
The idea that all experimental treatments are somehow equivalent to Laetrile is risible, however. As Trump said, it gives patients hope — and that’s the most important commodity there is.
“There are no options, but now you have hope. You really have hope,” the president said.
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