Trump’s defense of the Covid vaccine over Candace Owens is a good thing

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Donald Trump’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic as president is appalling. He underestimated the novel coronavirus deadline by equating it with a flu, he attacked lock-in survivors and he thought about injecting disinfectant as a remedy. But in an extraordinary show of good sense, Trump recently tried to sell his own base on the value of Covid vaccines.

The former president wants credit for his administration’s role in the rapid development and distribution of vaccines. He may not advocate vaccines for the right reasons, but since he is probably the single most influential person in America when it comes to convincing skeptical conservative establishments to get the jab, the consequences are worthwhile. -benefits for our country. His sparring with anti-vaccine activists also speaks to the tensions within his base that he needs to think about if he runs in 2024.

Trump clearly sees the development of vaccines while he is president as an opportunity to secure his historic legacy.

In an interview for The Daily Wire with right-wing commentator Candace Owens, Trump talked about developing three major Covid vaccines in the United States when he was still president, and, in a truly Trumpian way, took the credit for them as if he were. He himself engineered them in the lab.

“The vaccine is one of humanity’s greatest achievements,” Trump said. “I thought of one vaccine – with three vaccines – all very well… in less than nine months. It should take five to 12 years. “

(Trump has a mixed track record in vaccine development: He censored the process by inappropriately relying on regulators for approval, but his investment and interest in helping with development and deployment have helped to speed it up.)

When Owens replied that more people died from Covid during President Joe Biden’s term than Trump (which is incorrect) and suggested that it raised questions about the effectiveness of vaccines, Trump intervened to defend them. .

“The vaccine works, but some people don’t take it,” he said. “Those who get very sick and are hospitalized are those who do not get vaccinated. But it’s still their choice. “

“And if you get the vaccine, you’re protected,” Trump continued. “The vaccine results are very good. And if you get it, it’s a very small form. People don’t die when they get their vaccine.”

In that same interview, he criticized mask mandates, including for children in schools. But the takeaway is unapologetic advocacy for vaccination in the face of misinformation about whether vaccines work.

Trump’s reasoning emerged more clearly in an interview at a public event with Bill O’Reilly on Sunday. He championed vaccines as something that saved millions of lives and something that should be considered a badge of pride. “Take the credit for it. Take the credit for it. It’s great – it’s historic what we’ve done. Don’t let them take it. Don’t take it away from ourselves. You’re playing right into their hands, when you’re like, ‘Oh the vaccine . ’” Trump later announced he got a booster and dismissed boos from the crowd.

There are a few things going on here. Trump clearly sees the development of vaccines while he is president as an opportunity to secure his historic legacy, to argue that he shaped global events during his time in the White House. And he also views it as politically advantageous for the right to try to own the Covid vaccines and claims to author them.

Trump’s usefulness doesn’t look as good as it used to, but the more amusing fact on which it underlies is that Trump seems to believe in the effectiveness of vaccines themselves. He was vaccinated while he was at the White House, and he has since taken a booster – and he seems happy to share that news at the event with O’Reilly. Especially since the massive omicron fire spread has led to new conspiracy theories and false claims about how vaccines are not worth it, there is a tremendous amount that Trump is willing to face with skeptics.

If Trump runs in 2024, it’s not saying he can backtrack if he determines that his views on the vaccine could be an electoral liability. But his apparent belief that they work and his belief that they will put him on the right side of history, even if only for ego reasons, is a blessing for America.

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