Though the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be safe and effective at minimizing the spread of the virus that's killed more than 800 thousand Americans, conspiracy theories and skepticism regarding them have gripped conservative voters across the United States.
Far-right lawmakers like Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin have repeatedly used their platforms to promote the false idea that the vaccines are dangerous or an exercise in government control. Republican governors like Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas have banned private businesses from verifying vaccinations at their establishments. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that unvaccinated people are disproportionately Republican.
Though former President Donald Trump has consistently said the vaccines are safe, he's been criticized for not doing enough to disavow his supporters' conspiracies regarding it. Unlike many elected officials, Trump declined to be vaccinated in public. Meanwhile, he's blamed vaccine skepticism on President Joe Biden and insisted that vaccine mandates aren't necessary.
While on his speaking tour with conservative pundit Bill O'Reilly this past weekend, Trump urged his supporters to trust the vaccine and revealed he'd gotten the booster.
Watch below.
'You’re playing right into their hands' when you doubt the vaccine, President Trump says. pic.twitter.com/xJc7JTL0cR
— No Spin News (@NoSpinNews) December 20, 2021
After encouraging his supporters to reject vaccine skepticism, while also opposing vaccine mandates, Trump announced he was boosted, which prompted some of his supporters to boo.
Trump stopped before admonishing them:
"Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't. No. That's all right. It's a very tiny group over there."
But that "tiny group" represented a larger part of his base that also opposed Trump's comments on Twitter.
Cuck https://t.co/OPq8HW21ER
— Free Man Beyond The Wall (@manceraymond) December 20, 2021
If true I'm off of the Trump train https://t.co/3L8gJBHI4t
— Elmer Fudd (@bboneusa) December 20, 2021
Disappointing. We'll see how many die hards go take the shot now. https://t.co/SeZnE9QGrg
— PatriotQ91 (@PatriotQ91) December 20, 2021
I voted for him twice and I would not vote for him again. https://t.co/x0nAvr508Y
— Janet (@gooseymarmay66) December 20, 2021
What a complete fake, sellout piece of trash. https://t.co/dJ0rxVUZXM
— Gage (@Shiryobukai7) December 20, 2021
But even Trump's critics hoped some of his supporters would heed his words.
A number of social media users suggested cutting the moment into an ad to run on right-wing media outlets like Fox News and Newsmax, which have embraced vaccine skepticism.
If they want to undo a small part of the damage they’ve done, @FoxNews could turn this clip into a PSA and air it repeatedly in the next few days and weeks. @GOP could do the same. As could the Super PACs controlled by @GOPLeader and @LeaderMcConnell.pic.twitter.com/ZfuEGBUAPi
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) December 20, 2021
Here's the video of Trump hyping the vaccines to his followers—and getting them to cheer—telling them to take credit for the vaccine drive which "saved tens of millions worldwide." Turn this into an ad and run it on Fox, Newsmax, OANN, and Facebook. https://t.co/xp1XyF8hln
— Yair Rosenberg (@Yair_Rosenberg) December 20, 2021
They should run this as an ad on tv, every channel https://t.co/EyE8PV6zkQ
— Rafi (@rafi_dot_net) December 20, 2021
According to experts, the effort to get booster shots in the arms of Americans is far behind.
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