'You gotta say it': Trump goes after the 'gutless' politicians who withhold their booster status
Former President Donald Trump doesn't think very highly of politicians who refuse to admit they've received a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, it seems.
During an interview with the far-right One America News Network that aired Tuesday, Trump described politicos who dodge questions about their booster status as "gutless," Mediaite reports.
When asked by OAN host Dan Ball if he has reconsidered his recent positive vaccine rhetoric, as well his "view on the vaccine in general," Trump replied, "Well, I've taken it."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I've had the booster," he said. "Many politicians — I watched a couple of politicians be interviewed and one of the questions was, 'Did you get the booster?' — because they had the vaccine — and they're answering like in other words, the answer is 'yes' but they don't want to say it. Because they're gutless."
"You gotta say it — whether you had it or not," Trump went on. "Say it. But the fact is that I think the vaccine has saved tens of millions throughout the world. I have had absolutely no side effects."
The ex-president also noted those who have received the vaccine are less likely to be hospitalized or die from the virus.
"If they get it, they're not going to hospitals for the most part and dying," he said. "Before it was a horror, and now they're not." The president did, however, say he doesn't think "young, healthy people" should get the shot.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Trump's politician remarks may have also been directed at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), writes NBC News , who is sometimes viewed as a "Trump 2.0," and considered a possible presidential contender for 2024. DeSantis has so far refused to directly answer questions about his booster status, per NBC News.
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Why is Trump’s alleged strike on Venezuela shrouded in so much secrecy?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Trump’s comments have raised more questions than answers about what his administration is doing in the Southern Hemisphere
-
Vance’s ‘next move will reveal whether the conservative movement can move past Trump’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Why recognizing Somaliland is so risky for IsraelTHE EXPLAINER By wading into one of North Africa’s most fraught political schisms, the Netanyahu government risks further international isolation
-
Why is Trump’s alleged strike on Venezuela shrouded in so much secrecy?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Trump’s comments have raised more questions than answers about what his administration is doing in the Southern Hemisphere
-
Vance’s ‘next move will reveal whether the conservative movement can move past Trump’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
What have Trump’s Mar-a-Lago summits achieved?Today’s big question Zelenskyy and Netanyahu meet the president in his Palm Beach ‘Winter White House’
-
Biggest political break-ups and make-ups of 2025The Explainer From Trump and Musk to the UK and the EU, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a round-up of the year’s relationship drama
-
Donald Trump’s squeeze on VenezuelaIn Depth The US president is relying on a ‘drip-drip pressure campaign’ to oust Maduro, tightening measures on oil, drugs and migration
-
Trump appears numerous times in new Epstein batchSpeed Read
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
Danes ‘outraged’ at revived Trump Greenland pushSpeed Read
