Biden offers rare praise to Trump during the speech to Covid

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“I got my booster shot once they were available,” Biden said in a speech from the White House about his administration’s efforts to address the Omicron variant of the Covid-19, added, “and the other day former President Trump just announced that he got his booster shot. “

“It might be one of the few things he and I agreed on,” Biden continued. “People with booster shots are totally protected. Join them. Join us.”

Those who were not vaccinated faced a 10 times greater risk of being tested positive and a 20 times greater risk of dying from Covid-19 than those who were fully vaccinated who also received the booster, according to data published recently by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a speech Tuesday, Biden also praised the Trump administration for its efforts to develop a Covid-19 vaccine before he took office.

“Let me be clear. Thanks to the previous administration and to our scientific community, America was one of the first countries to get the vaccine,” Biden said. “Thanks to my administration and the hard work of the Americans, we led a roll out, made America the world leader in getting gun shots.”

The President’s comments came two days after the video was released showing Trump booing a crowd when he revealed he received his booster shot at an event with Bill O’Reilly.

According to the video tweeted by O’Reilly’s “No Spin News,” the former Fox News host said, “Both the President and I are vaxxed,” and then asked Trump, “Did you get the booster? “

“Yes,” Trump said with slight boos in the audience.

“Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t,” Trump said, seemingly trying to silence the boos. “It’s okay. Very small group there.”

Trump has long defended his administration’s efforts to develop Covid vaccines, but he rarely discusses his vaccination status and increasingly refuses to encourage others to get it.

The former President’s disclosure is a change in his former stance. Trump had earlier said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published in September that he was unlikely to get a booster shot, saying he felt he was “in good shape from that perspective” and “probably not” get the booster.

“I’ll look into things later,” he added. “I’m not against it, but maybe not for me.”

In a longer video that was later tweeted by O’Reilly’s site, Trump warned supporters that they were “playing right into their hands” when they removed vaccines and not taking credit for their efforts. development during his administration.

“Look, we’ve done something historic. We’ve saved tens of millions of lives around the world. We’re-together. We’re all, not me,” Trump said in the video, which came shortly before Trump received the smattering of boos.

Trump even said in the video that “Covid-19 would have devastated the country more than it is today” if vaccines had not been developed. But the former President also slammed vaccine mandates.

“If you don’t want to take it, you shouldn’t be forced to take it. There’s no mandate. But take credit, because we saved ten of millions of lives. Take credit. Don’t let them take that from you,” Trump said.

Trump, who contracted Covid while serving in office, received his first vaccination without being seen by the press before leaving office. CNN reported a few months later that his vaccination was not recorded by official photographers or videographers, according to someone familiar with the matter.

In his speech Tuesday, Biden said unvaccinated Americans are “responsible for their own choices, but those choices are fueled by dangerous misinformation on cable TV and social media.” Although he did not name the names, the spread of some disinformation on Covid-19 and anti-vaccine rhetoric can be credited to Trump’s allies and right-wing press.

“You know, these companies and personalities make a profit by selling lies and allowing misinformation that can kill their own customers and their own supporters,” Biden added. “It’s wrong. It’s immoral. I call on the purveyors of these lies and misinformation to stop it. Stop it now.”

Biden has long insisted that national efforts to combat Covid-19 and boost the economy are not political, but the President is faced with declining approval numbers in conjunction with a Delta variant surge and re-enforcing restrictions. in public health. On the road, along with the red states, Biden saved several opportunities to encourage Americans to be vaccinated against Covid-19. He did so last week in Kentucky – a state where only 53.5% of residents are fully vaccinated – while assessing damage from recent hurricanes and tornadoes.

CNN’s Dan Merica contributed to this report.

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