Former President Donald Trump heard an unfamiliar sound during his Saturday night rally in Cullman, Alabama: Booing, directed at him.
The jeers at Trump events are usually aimed at the media, Twitter and Facebook, Hillary Clinton, or anyone with the last name of Biden, but this time, they came after Trump encouraged the crowd to get vaccinated against COVID-19. "I believe totally in your freedoms," Trump said. "I do, you're free, you got to do what you have to do. But I recommend taking the vaccines. I did it, it's good, take the vaccines."
Immediately, people began to boo. "That's okay," Trump responded. "That's all right. That's good, you got your freedoms. But I happen to take the vaccine. If it doesn't work, you'll be the first to know. Okay." Trump was hospitalized last October with COVID-19, and was vaccinated before leaving the White House in January.
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.
Alabama has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with the highly contagious Delta variant causing a surge in cases. Alabama health officials said 85 percent of people hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated, and there has been an increase in the number of children with COVID-19; this week, 50 infected kids have been hospitalized, The Guardian reports.
Officials shared their concerns that Trump's rally would be a super-spreader event, with Luke Satterfield, an attorney for Cullman, saying beforehand that the city wants to "prevent as many non-COVID related things as possible, so our hospital can use its resources to focus on the pandemic and its variants. We don't want to put any extra strain on them."
-
Will California’s Proposition 50 kill gerrymandering reform?Talking Points Or is opposing Trump the greater priority for voters?
-
‘The trickle of shutdowns could soon become a flood’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Wikipedia: Is ‘neutrality’ still possible?Feature Wikipedia struggles to stay neutral as conservatives accuse the site of being left-leaning
-
Will California’s Proposition 50 kill gerrymandering reform?
Talking Points Or is opposing Trump the greater priority for voters?
-
‘The trickle of shutdowns could soon become a flood’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Bailouts: Why Trump is rescuing ArgentinaFeature The White House approved a $20 billion currency swap with Argentina
-
Judge halts firings during government shutdownFeature A federal judge blocked President Trump’s plan to cut jobs tied to “Democrat programs,” ruling that his administration violated layoff laws during the shutdown
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
‘France may well be in store for a less than rocambolesque future’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
