Trump reportedly told donors he hopes GOP voters get vaccinated because 'we need our people'

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

As COVID-19's Delta variant spreads across the U.S., "many Republican governors have taken sweeping action to combat what they see as an even more urgent danger posed by the pandemic: the threat to personal freedom," The New York Times reports. "Most top Republicans, including every Republican governor, have been vaccinated and have encouraged others to do so. But most have also stopped short of supporting inoculation requirements and have opposed masking requirements," sometimes using the levels of government to block vaccine and mask mandates at private businesses and local schools.

"Freedom is good policy and good politics," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told the Times. But this definition of freedom also carries individual and community risks — a swath of Southern states with low vaccination rates and few COVID-19 restrictions are seeing their highest hospitalization numbers and death tolls of the pandemic.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.