Trump has been vocal this week on Covid-19 vaccines, pushing them to supporters, correcting some misinformation and clarifying that they protect against hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19.
He also seeks personal credit for developing a vaccine and tells his supporters they should get the vaccine, although he agrees they should have the right not to get it.
“Well, no, the vaccine works,” he said.
“The people who get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones who don’t take their vaccine. But it’s always their choice, and if you take the vaccine, you are protected.”
The two have toured with stops in Florida and Texas, but boos from a friendly crowd and the vaccine’s recoil suggest some space on the Covid issue between Trump and some conservatives.
President Joe Biden and Trump even spoke kind words to each other on the subject of vaccines this week.
“Thanks to the previous administration and our scientific community, America is one of the first countries to get vaccinated,” Biden told the White House.
Imagine if Trump had taken this vocally pro-vaccine stance a few months ago, boosting confidence in the vaccine at the time instead of making statements like this:
CNN’s Veronica Stracqualursi and David Wright note that Trump has “frequently politicized the development and deployment of vaccines and told the Wall Street Journal in September that he was unlikely to receive a booster. He was also inconsistent in promoting of science-based recommendations to slow the spread of the virus and pushed for refuted treatments for Covid-19. ”
Now, however, he takes personal credit.
“I came up with a vaccine, with three vaccines. All of them are very, very good. I found three in less than nine months,” he told Owens.
Unfortunately, his previous attitude likely influenced – or was influenced by – Republicans’ distrust of vaccines.
While most Republicans, like most Americans, are fully or partially vaccinated, it’s also true that most unvaccinated Americans either belong to or support the GOP, according to CNN’s Ariel Edwards-Levy. She cites research which suggests that even Trump’s approval is unlikely to change the minds of holdouts.
The electoral lie is perhaps Trump’s favorite thing to talk about publicly. And vaccines are something he will now advocate for.
But he’s also trying to keep other things quiet this week. His lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to exempt him from handing over documents and communications related to the January 6 uprising.
The House committee responsible for investigating the insurgency is on the verge, after the judicial victories, of obtaining the documents from the National Archives.
But Trump on Thursday asked the judges of the highest court for help, demanding that they honor his claim for executive privilege even though he is no longer in office.
Breaking with recent tradition, Biden has refused to assert executive privilege on Trump’s behalf.
It’s a worrying trend for American democracy as election officials prepare for the 2022 midterm election, when Republicans are expected to regain control of the House of Representatives, and eagerly await the 2024 presidential election. , which may well feature Trump’s rematch against. Biden.
