Bill Gates says he had to twice explain the difference between HIV and HPV to Trump

Oh dear.
 By 
Sam Haysom
 on 
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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Footage of Bill Gates talking about some of the more awkward conversations he's had with Donald Trump has been obtained by MSNBC.

In the video above, which the Guardian reports was taken at a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation meeting, Gates talks about the handful of occasions he's met Trump since the President was elected.

"Both times he wanted to know if there was a difference between HIV and HPV"

"He knew my daughter Jennifer, because Trump has this horse show thing down in Florida, in fact he went up and talked to Jen and was being super nice," says Gates. "And then, like 20 minutes later, he flew in in a helicopter to the same place. So clearly he'd been driven away but he wanted to make a grand entrance in a helicopter."

He goes on to describe it as "kind of scary" how much Trump knew about his daughter's appearance, before speaking about some meetings they had later to discuss science and innovation.

"Both times he wanted to know if there was a difference between HIV and HPV," Gates continues, "so I was able to explain that those are rarely confused with each other."

HPV -- short for human papillomavirus -- and HIV -- short for human immunodeficiency virus -- are two very different viruses, despite their similar acronyms.

HIV is a virus that attacks a person's immune system and can lead to AIDS. There is no cure for HIV, but it can be controlled if treated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

On the other hand, HPV is a virus with many different strains that can lead to warts, or even cervical cancer. According to the CDC, nearly 80 million Americans have HPV.

The footage was released on Thursday night, and Trump has yet to post any angry tweets about it. Chances are that'll change when he wakes up, though.

Miriam Kramer contributed to this story.

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Sam Haysom

Sam Haysom is the Deputy UK Editor for Mashable. He covers entertainment and online culture, and writes horror fiction in his spare time.

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