Trump Calls DeSantis and Other Politicians “Gutless” for Not Disclosing Booster Status
In a recent interview, Trump took a shot at Florida’s governor and other politicians who have remained mum about whether they have received a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, adding to a string of instances in which the former president has publicly backed getting vaccinated against the virus.
Former President Donald Trump took aim at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and other politicians who have kept their COVID-19 booster status in the dark.
In a recent interview with far-right channel, One America News, Trump shared that he had received his booster dose and said, “I watched a couple politicians be interviewed and one of the questions was, ‘Did you get a 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. ”
Though Trump did not mention DeSantis specifically, his remarks follow a December interview DeSantis had with Fox News, in which he sidestepped a question about whether he had received his booster shot.
Despite initially advocating for the COVID-19 vaccine and receiving it himself, DeSantis has since gone silent about his stance, with his communications team asserting that his booster status is private medical information.
Both Trump and DeSantis have hinted at the possibility of their running as presidential candidates in the 2024 election.
Trump’s recent pro-vaccine rhetoric comes as somewhat of a surprise, as he took a decidedly lax and delayed approach to combating coronavirus at the pandemic’s onset. NBC reported that Trump’s latest push to reverse dialogue surrounding vaccines and their effectiveness are an ostensible attempt to take credit for said effort — he touted his administration’s pandemic response as performing “so well with therapeutics and, and vaccines and everything else and getting them done in record times.”
Following Trump’s criticisms, conservative pundit Ann Coulter took to Twitter to publicly attack the former president, dubbing him a “liar and a con man.”
Additionally, Trump was booed last month by some of his vaccine-resistant supporters during a conversation with Bill O’Reilly after he acknowledged that he had gotten the booster jab.