Former president Donald Trump was effusive in his praise for the coronavirus vaccines in a recent interview with the Daily Wire’s Candace Owens, telling Owens that “the vaccine is one of the greatest achievements of mankind.”
Owens began by asking Trump about vaccine mandates, citing “Big Pharma,” as a “huge topic on the minds of mothers especially.” Trump quickly restated opposition to mandates — “people have to have their freedom” — before pivoting to extolling the benefits of the vaccines.
Trump called “all three vaccines . . . very, very good,” during the exchange, referring to the inoculations offered by Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. It took them less than nine months, when “it was supposed to take five to twelve years,” to create safe and effective vaccines, per the former president.
Owens observed that “more people have died under Covid this year, by the way, under Joe Biden than under you, and more people took the vaccine this year so people are questioning how-”
At that point, Trump interjected, insisting that that it was mostly the unvaccinated who were experiencing serious sickness. “The ones that get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don’t take their vaccine . . . If you take the vaccine, you’re protected,” said Trump.
“The vaccine worked, but some people aren’t taking it,” he argued.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki praised Trump for his defense of the vaccine in a Thursday tweet and during her press briefing later in the day.
Just going to echo former President Trump here on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. Merry Christmas eve eve. go get boosted https://t.co/0PCffM5kHl
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) December 23, 2021
Trump’s comments come just a few days after he revealed, during an event with commentator Bill O’Reilly, that he had received a booster shot for the coronavirus.
CDC data shows that being inoculated against the virus significantly reduces the risk of severe illness and death.