The previous president was and is extremely pro-vaccine. People claim there is a large republican cohort of anti-vax politicians, but there is not. There is a large GOP cohort of anti-vax-mandate politicians, but being against a mandate does not mean being anti vax, unless you're changing the meaning.
> If the previous president had not politicized the response to COVID and had simply told his followers to do what the CDC says we would have many millions more people getting the vaccine (and for the matter, hundreds of thousands of people would still be alive).
You are accusing Trump of politicizing COVID while ignoring Andrew Cuomo, who at the beginning of the pandemic, used COVID, and the fact he was not Trump, for his political advantage, and the media gushed and was happy to give him more airtime than Trump, despite the fact it was obvious from the very beginning that New York State's handling was much worse than Trumps.
Trump literally still calls it the "Trump Vaccine". Also I think people forget how much airtime went into "the vaccine isn't the answer" once Trump started talking about warp speed and the second the election was over it was "the vaccine is the only answer".
I think you can blame a lot on Trump and repubs with regards to protocols, level of concern, being actively anti-mask, etc but it takes a very selective memory to act like Trump wasn't 1000% on board with the vaccine.
Examples:
- Past vaccine disasters show why rushing a coronavirus vaccine now would be 'colossally stupid'
By Jen Christensen, CNN
Updated 11:34 AM EDT, Tue September 01, 2020
- CNN: The timetable for a coronavirus vaccine is 18 months. Experts say that's risky
By Robert Kuznia
Updated 2:14 PM EDT, Wed April 01, 2020
- Here's where we stand on getting a coronavirus vaccine
By Holly Yan, CNN
Updated 1:45 PM EDT, Mon June 08, 2020
- With big talk and hurled insults, the gloves come off in the race for the coronavirus vaccine
By Elizabeth Cohen, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent
Updated 7:00 AM EDT, Wed May 27, 2020
> (CNN)Ethicists and physicians are concerned that, amid a desire to put an end to the Covid-19 pandemic, developers of drugs and vaccines have become overly enthusiastic about the chances their products will work.
Correct. This is one of the few areas where trump seemingly disagrees with his own base. Sites like patriots.win (remnants of thedonald) criticize trump for his vax support.
I am very confused when you say "previous president" and pro-vaccine. Are you not referring to Trump? He was talking anti-vax stuff during the 2016 primary debates. He retweeted conflation of vaccination and autism in 2014.
> If the previous president had not politicized the response to COVID and had simply told his followers to do what the CDC says we would have many millions more people getting the vaccine (and for the matter, hundreds of thousands of people would still be alive).
You are accusing Trump of politicizing COVID while ignoring Andrew Cuomo, who at the beginning of the pandemic, used COVID, and the fact he was not Trump, for his political advantage, and the media gushed and was happy to give him more airtime than Trump, despite the fact it was obvious from the very beginning that New York State's handling was much worse than Trumps.