The Truth About Donald And Melania Trump Getting The COVID-19 Vaccine
Circle, circle, dot, dot. Now the Trumps have their cootie COVID shot!
On March 1, 2021, New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman tweeted that a former President Donald Trump adviser told her that the ex-president and former first lady Melania Trump actually received their COVID-19 vaccine prior to leaving the White House in January 2021.
The former president recently made headlines while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, better known as CPAC, in sunny Orlando, Fla. In true Trump fashion, he riled up the crowds while doling out many controversial statements during his speech, but he also shocked some of his own supporters when he seemed to be in support of the vaccine. "We took care of a lot of people — including, I guess, on Dec. 21, we took care of Joe Biden, because he got his shot, he got his vaccine," Trump said.
But what else did Trump say at the convention that surprised the crowds in attendance? Keep reading to find out!
Donald Trump encouraged the audience at the CPAC to get the COVID-19 vaccine
During the CPAC, Donald Trump took his comments on the vaccine one step further when he encouraged the audience to get their shots — a move that some might consider dicey while in the midst of a crowd overwhelmingly full of conservatives. (As per Axios, "Republicans are least likely to want the vaccine.") In his speech, however, Trump told the crowd: "Everybody go get your shot," per Yahoo! News. This was definitely an interesting call-to-action by Trump, considering his audience.
It should be noted, however, that in December 2020, Trump faced scrutiny after some accused him of waiting to get the shot until the Pfizer vaccine was released. Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams defended Trump, publicly citing a "medical reason" for the delay, according to CBS News. According to Adams, Trump opted to hold off on the vaccine due to undergoing an antibody treatment after testing positive for the virus in the fall.
Donald Trump drew criticism for getting the vaccine 'quietly'
While some were pleasantly surprised that Donald Trump was finally encouraging his loyal fanbase to get the COVID-19 vaccine, others criticized him for being "too little too late." They also took issue with his decision to get the vaccine behind closed doors as opposed to doing it publicly and perhaps instilling confidence in some of the vaccine's skeptics, a large number of those people being his own supporters.
Meanwhile, many high-profile public servants chose to publicize their experience while receiving the coronavirus vaccine. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were administered the vaccine via live television, and former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton offered to get the vaccine publicly as well, so as to show their vote of confidence in the shot, as reported by CNN.
But as you may recall, this isn't exactly the first time Trump has shared his opinion about vaccines. As reported by The New York Times, way back in 2009, Trump made false remarks about many routine childhood vaccines and even seemingly linked them to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which affects the nervous system. "I think the vaccines can be very dangerous. And, obviously, you know, a lot of people are talking about vaccines with children with respect to autism," Trump declared. However, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted, "studies have shown that there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing ASD."
Donald Trump claimed credit for the COVID-19 vaccine at CPAC
There is one aspect of the COVID-19 vaccine that Donald Trump has never wavered on: giving himself credit for its speedy rollout.
As reported by The Guardian, even while remaining mum for some time about receiving the vaccine himself, he still managed to pat himself on the back for a job well done. "Never let them forget this was us. We did this," he boasted at CPAC as the crowd cheered on.
But is the former president correct in making such a confident statement? According to a report published in January of 2021 by CNN, not in the slightest. Instead, it's reported that President Joe Biden was left empty-handed when taking over the reins from Trump in relation to the vaccine distribution and essentially made to start from "square one."
"There is nothing for us to rework. We are going to have to build everything from scratch," one source claimed. Meanwhile, another alluded to the lack of planning on the previous administration's part exclaiming, "Wow, just further affirmation of complete incompetence."
Alas, this is the part wherein we should all remind ourselves of the famous former words of the former president: "I would give myself an A+."