Trump fires up vaccine tensions
Veteran GOP strategist Keith Naughton said he was “a little” surprised by Trump’s recent cheerleading of the vaccines, given the former president's claim earlier this year that he was unlikely to get a COVID-19 booster. But he said it also made political sense.
“On the surface it’s surprising. But when you think about it, it’s a sensible thing,” he said. “It’s a sign that he is running. I think he knows he can’t just be part of that extremist side, he’s got to branch out.”
Days before the Owens interview, Trump was booed by some in the crowd when he told conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly that he had received a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot.
The former president seemed frustrated, saying it was a mistake for people to turn against the vaccines and that it was smart to campaign on their development.
“Look, we did something that was historic, we saved tens of millions of lives worldwide. We, together, all of us, not me,” said Trump.
“Take credit for it. Take credit for it. It's great. What we've done is historic. Don't let them take it away. Don't take it away from ourselves. You are playing right into their hands when you sort of like, 'Oh, the vaccine,’” he added.
Some Republicans welcomed Trump’s remarks, saying it will help their party if they are not tagged with an anti-vaccine label. A few also think it could lead to more people getting vaccinated.
“Absolutely. Because what you had is just a crescendo of misinformation from the small but loud anti-vaccine voice,” one Trump ally said when asked if the remarks could lead to more Republicans getting vaccinated.
“For the past year, some of these fringe voices were allowed to speak, and then he didn't respond to it. Now he spoke, and now these fringe voices just realize how small their voices are compared to the former president of the United States.”
GOP pollster Robert Blizzard said if Trump does run, he needs to expand his base, as does his party. He and other sources suggested the recent messaging offered some potential for doing so.
The pro-vaccine remarks from Trump did not trigger a notable backlash, though Owens later suggested Trump was unable to adequately research the vaccines online because of his age. Infowars host Owen Shroyer said the remarks could “leave a bad taste in our mouth.”
It’s unclear how Trump plans to proceed talking about the vaccines, which would inevitably lead to conflict with parts of the right.
“There is a chunk of the base that just doesn’t trust the vaccines, and I think there was a real feeling that Trump was with them on that,” one Republican operative said. “I think hearing him actually point out that, you know, the vaccines are safe — there’s kind of this inherent tension with the anti-vax crowd who likes the president, who, rightly or wrongly, thinks he’s on their side.”
“It’s a weird dynamic,” the operative added.
Former President Trump is touting his administration’s work in developing life-saving COVID-19 vaccines, putting him at odds with a portion of his base that is skeptical or opposed to the vac…
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