What did Biden and Trump say about the vaccine? It is surprisingly sociable | Opinion

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I’m not in the habit of talking about Christmas miracles. I am Jewish. But this past week, I think I witnessed one: Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden talked warmly and positively about each other.

MSNBC reported recent statements from Biden:

“Let me be clear: Thanks to the previous administration and our scientific community, America was one of the first countries to get the vaccine,” the president said. “And thanks to my administration and the efforts of Americans, we have led a rollout that has made America the world’s leaders in taking up arms shots.”

Perhaps nothing tickles the former president like flattery, so he responded to Fox News:

“I really appreciate that – I was shocked to hear it,” Trump told Fox News. “I think it’s a very good thing, and I think it makes a lot of people happy. …” I think he did something very good, “Trump said.” You know, it has to be. a healing process in this country, and that will help a great deal. ”

But Trump’s change in rhetoric has had a refreshing turn lately, one must wonder if he was visited by three ghosts this Christmas.

The former president sat down last week with conservative firebrand and popular anti-vaccine host, Candace Owens, for The Daily Wire. And Trump also did something remarkable: He stayed on the message the entire time.

Owens asked the former president about vaccine mandates, giving a reference about “Big Pharma” in his question. Trump replied, “One of the greatest achievements. We’ve done it in less than nine months.”

Owens tried to distract him, returning the question to commands. Trump doesn’t have it.

“I stand by, forget about mandates, people need to have their freedom. But at the same time, the vaccine is one of the greatest achievements of mankind. We would have had 1917 – remember the Spanish flu? Killed maybe 100 million people. It really ended World War I. a lot of people don’t know that. Because soldiers got sick, it’s a horrible thing. No vaccines, nothing. I thought of a vaccine-three vaccines – all very good. Got three of them in less than nine months. It should take five to 12 years. “

Skeptically, Owens said more people died under the Biden administration, despite more people getting the vaccine. And again, Trump should not be misled.

“Oh no. The vaccine works. But some people don’t get it. Those who get sick and hospitalized are the ones who don’t take the vaccine. They still have a choice. And if you get the vaccine, you’re protected. You see, The vaccine has a very good result. And if you get it, it’s a very small form. People don’t die when they get the vaccine. “

American public health officials and leaders have tried everything under the sun to stop this pandemic: masking children in daycare, passing inner mask mandates for supermarkets and libraries, passports of the vaccine and expanding the trial. But there is really only one reliable mitigation effort that works over and over again: vaccination. Sure, we wouldn’t have vaccinated COVID-19 without it, but clearly with these shots, we could keep most people healthy enough if they became infected to heal at home instead of needing support. care in hospitals.

The former president’s explicit support for vaccination and the cooling of tensions between Trump and Biden are vital to national public health. Hopefully President Biden acknowledges that his rhetoric about an “unvaccinated winter of death” is less convincing to Republican voters than anything the former president can say about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. Intentionally or not, both Biden and Trump have been central to doing so.

Bethany Mandel is a contributing writer for Deseret News and an editor at Ricochet.com.

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