Was President Trump Wrong for Touting the COVID-19 Vaccine? – Opinion

Candace Owens, conservative commentator and former President Donald Trump caused a stir recently when he praised the COVID-19 vaccination. Some on the right seem to be in complete dismay because Trump isn’t on the anti-vaxx train. Is this really as important as people think?

On Tuesday, Trump participated in an interview on the Daily Wire show “Candace,” in which he took credit for the “incredible speed” at which vaccines were developed while he was still in office.

“I came up with a vaccine, with three vaccines,” he said. “All are very, very good. Three of them were created in nine months. It was supposed to take five to 12 years.”

Owens was a bit more firm, noting that COVID-19 has claimed the lives of many Americans this year, and even though it is circulating, Owens disagreed.

“Yet more people have died under COVID this year,” she argued. “By the way, under Joe Biden, than under you and more people took the vaccine this year. So people are questioning how—”

Trump interjected:

“Oh no, the vaccines work, but some people aren’t the ones. The ones who get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don’t take the vaccine. But it’s still their choice. And if you take the vaccine, you’re protected.”

The president was still in office.

“Look, the results of the vaccine are very good, and if you do get it, it’s a very minor form. People aren’t dying when they take the vaccine.”

Earlier this month, Trump also praised vaccination during an interview with former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, noting that he had received his booster shot. The former president spoke out against mandates for vaccines and masks during his interview with Owens. “People have to have their freedom,” he said.

Donald Trump: ‘The Vaccine is one of the greatest achievements of mankind’ ‘All three vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, J&J) are very good’ ‘The vaccines work – If you take the vaccine you are protected’ ‘People aren’t dying when they take the vaccine’ pic.twitter.com/fU8q1sdMda

— Popper (@Kukicat7) December 22, 2021

Trump’s support for vaxx was criticized by a number of prominent right-wing figures. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones slammed the former president, claiming he has joined with the “New World Order” and other unseemly individuals.

“Sign on to it. You are the one who did it. Sign on and believe this. Hell, we’re fighting Bill Gates and Fauci and Biden and the New World Order and Psaki and the Davos Group,” Jones raged on his show this week. “And now we’ve got Trump on their team!”

Ali Alexander, one of the founders of the “Stop the Steal” movement which helped Democrats win Georgia’s Senate seats, also took issue with Trump.

“Remember when Trump said you would be playing right into the Democrat’s hands by mocking the rushed, ineffective shot?” he wrote on Telegram. “Yeah, Joe Biden praises him and his booster shot. Trump, stop. Simply stop. Let us have your position, which is supported by Fauci. This losing is getting boomer level annoying.”

Ben Garrison, a conservative political cartoonist, also attacked Trump by drawing him on a cartoon depicting Trump riding a vaccine wagon while MAGA-wearing supporters cheer.

I never imagined that one day, Ben Garrison would turn on Trump. pic.twitter.com/6S89RL9UXz

— kim possible facts (@kimpossiblefact) December 23, 2021

Even the QAnoners had their panties in a bunch over Trump’s comments. You trust the plan?

But here’s the question: Was Trump wrong, though?

Some are not happy with Trump’s claim that COVID-19 is fatal to anyone who receives the vaccine. However, anyone who has been paying attention to his stint in politics over the past five years has heard the maxim: “Take Trump seriously, not literally.”

Exaggerations, hyperbole and exaggerations are hallmarks of the former president. Bigly. This is why it’s hard to believe that Trump meant that no one has been vaccinated for COVID-19.

I think it’s safe to say Trump knows that at least some vaccinated people have died. He simply pointed out that the majority of people who are hospitalized or have died from the virus have not been vaccinated.

Indeed, most of those who support Trump have the exact same position: Get the vaxx if you want, but don’t mandate it for the rest of the country. This is a sentiment with which most of us can agree because we’re not authoritarians.

It is also worth noting that most of those criticizing Trump are not just anti-mandate, they are anti-vaxx, meaning they don’t want anyone to get injected. According to a September poll, 56 percent of Republicans were at least partially vaccinated. Trump critics are a minority.

To put it simply there was nothing wrong with Trump’s stance on the vaccine. Trump simply reiterated the belief of many: Individuals should be free and able to make their decisions.