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His administration will forever be credited with producing a vaccine for a disease that caused a global pandemic, and he has even called it a “medical miracle,” but since millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines began circulating across America President Trump has been AWOL on the topic.
The people in the United States least likely to get the dual shots are supporters of the president, yet he’s in no hurry to change their minds. Trump is filling his days with a fictional fraud about the Nov. 3 election, but he is not touting his historic accomplishment — funding and facilitating a vaccine for COVID-19 in record time through Operation Warp Speed.
High-ranking officials across the country are getting the first dose, either on live television or releasing statements immediately afterward to promote its benefit and safety — from Vice President Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President-elect Joe Biden. When asked about his plans, the White House press secretary said Trump is “absolutely open” to getting the vaccine and “has great confidence” in both the Pfizer and Moderna options. “Open,” it’s worth noting, isn’t “eager” or even “interested.”
The vaccine seems to be yet another part of his job that Trump has given up on. He has been absent from numerous burgeoning crises — from the exploding COVID infection rate to a massive cyberattack on our government that he has only spoken of on Twitter (to downplay its impact while not attributing it to the Russians — whom his own administration officials blame for the attack). Tuesday he threatened to bail on the massive spending bill that includes COVID relief congressional leaders negotiated with his Treasury secretary — and with the president’s knowledge of what is in it. But it’s inexplicable that Trump is playing possum on the vaccine when it affords him the chance not only to do something that will save lives, but also presents an opportunity to brag about himself more, cementing the legacy of the achievement.
All of the polling, and anecdotes in media reports, show African Americans and Trump supporters are the most hesitant about getting inoculated. But Republicans rank highest in their resistance to being immunized, mostly because they believe the disease risks have been exaggerated, they don’t trust government, and they have been the group of Americans most likely to shun public disease mitigation measures like mask wearing.
Politico cited a Kaiser Family Foundation poll showing that while “Trump ranked last among the general public as a trusted voice on the vaccine, he was the second-most trusted source of information among Republicans, well ahead of state officials, local health departments and the FDA.”
As the vaccine landed, Trump was exuberant about it — tweeting triumphantly on the day the first dose was given last week: “First Vaccine Administered. Congratulations USA! Congratulations WORLD!” But as soon as other public figures started getting shots, Trump seems to have suddenly lost interest. Politico reported he won’t lend his efforts to the vaccine campaign because Biden isn’t giving him enough credit. But Biden has come out twice, once while getting his shot and another time in an interview with Steven Colbert, to — yes — credit the Trump administration for the achievement. “I think what he’s done, getting the vaccine moving, has been positive,” the incoming president told Colbert.
It matters not whether Biden compliments his predecessor for the vaccine program. If Trump wants people to remember this, he should own it. Take it, talk it up, Trump it up — it’s truly an occasion to bask in the glow of a favorable spotlight instead of an unfavorable one. The truth is, Trump doesn’t have to take the vaccine on television — or he could do so partially screened so he doesn’t have to bare his arm and shoulder for all the world to see. Even taking it privately and then talking to the press afterward with his doctor about it would help enormously. Yes, plenty of people would then promote a conspiracy theory that he never actually took the shot, but it’s likely plenty more would accept that he did and have more confidence that they should too.
Experts estimate at least 70% of the population must be immunized to reach the herd immunity level needed to suppress COVID-19. Biden is aware he will inherit a massive inoculation campaign with a significant swath of the country refusing to be vaccinated. He has repeatedly warned that development of a vaccine won’t help us without vaccinations. “It’s a very different thing to get the vaccine out of that tube, into a syringe, into somebody’s arm,” he told Colbert. “The vaccination — that is a monumental task and is probably the single most significant effort to take place in the United States, to distribute something around the world, around the country.”
Colorado Republican Rep. Ken Buck said he won’t take it because he’s more concerned about the safety of the vaccine than the effects of the disease. “It is my choice,” he told Neil Cavuto on Fox Business Network Friday. “I’m an American and I have the freedom to decide if I’m going to take a vaccine or not and, in this case, I’m not going to take the vaccine.”
Trump could counter Buck’s message by defending the shot’s safety and efficacy, and urge Americans to trust the scientists.
What all Americans, but particularly Trump’s most ardent supporters, know is that his messaging throughout the pandemic has been anti-science except about the vaccine. He has held multiple super-spreader events and has been — at times — anti-mask, anti-testing and anti-tracing. But the vaccine was always “coming” — he started speaking of it in the first week of March.
After the election, Ivanka Trump revealed a stunning fact in a proud tweet posted Nov. 16 that read: “Fact Check: this Moderna /NIH vaccine is literally the one that President @realDonaldTrump partnered with Moderna to create on January 13, 2020 … I repeat January 13th, 2020. Just be happy. This is great news for America and for the world!”
Yes, even as Trump continued lying for months about the lethality and transmissibility of the virus, he had jumped early to launch the vaccine process.
Trump has a month left in office. He has spent 50 days since the election pretending it was stolen, raising money by conning people that such evidence exists when none has been presented to a court. To help his country, and himself, Trump could help others by instead focusing his remaining weeks as president entirely on overseeing an effort to build confidence in the vaccine he takes pride in delivering. He could lead. He could unite the country. He could save lives. Is he following his followers or can he lead instead? What are the odds he will?
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