Trump, Who Ignored the Pandemic from the Start, Says Biden is to Blame for Vaccine Hesitancy

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Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:39 pm

Former President Donald Trump, whose administration ignored or downplayed the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic from the start, claimed President Joe Biden is to blame for vaccine hesitancy. He also pushed back against vaccine mandates, calling them “unnecessary.”

“If you remember, when I was president, there were literally lines of people wanting to take it,” Trump said, conveniently ignoring that the vaccine rollout was first limited to essential workers.

Trump is incorrect.

Although the vaccine rollout stalled for a time, it has picked up again in the days since President Biden announced a vaccine mandate for all federal workers and contractors, in addition to a requirement that large companies must mandate vaccines or regular testing for employees. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 1.78 million people have received a dose of the vaccine in recent weeks.

Despite that, Trump says Americans “don’t trust this president, and that’s why they’re not taking it.”

He has often claimed credit for Operation Warp Speed, the partnership initiated by the federal government to facilitate and accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines and medical treatments.

However, he has repeatedly disputed that he is responsible for vaccine hesitancy despite promoting disproved Covid-19 treatments, such as hydroxychloroquine.