(PresidentialInsider.com)- Now that former President Donald Trump has incurred the wrath of many of his supporters for promoting the COVID vaccines and admitting he received a booster shot, some White House reporters wonder if the Biden administration might parade Trump around as part of its ongoing efforts to boost vaccination rates.
During Thursday’s press briefing, CNN’s Jeremy Diamond asked press secretary Jen Psaki, in light of Trump’s “apparent change in tune” on booster shots, if there any “renewed contact” between President Biden and Trump or the White House and Trump’s people.
Diamond’s question is based on a lie. Trump didn’t have a “change in tune.” He has always advocated for the COVID vaccines. It was his administration that rushed to get them developed, after all. Diamond portraying Trump as a recent vaccine convert is just the kind of dishonest framing Americans have come to expect from CNN.
Psaki told Diamond that there had been no “renewed contact,” but she added that the White House was “grateful” that former President Trump had said in a recent interview that the COVID vaccines were safe and effective. She said Trump’s message was an important one that everyone needed to hear.
Psaki went on to explain that vaccines should not be a partisan issue. Instead, it is “about saving lives” and pushing back on misinformation. In that interview, Psaki said, former President Trump “did that.”
Diamond’s question was followed by another reporter who asked pretty much the same thing, namely, would the White House consider partnering with Trump to encourage his “vaccine-hesitant” supporters to get vaccinated.
Psaki dismissed the idea saying a formal partnership isn’t necessary. She said having Trump out there making “factually accurate” statements about the vaccines’ safety and effectiveness is a good thing the same way having celebrities and other politicians out there promoting vaccines is.
But, Psaki added, the “most effective voices” in boosting vaccination rates aren’t from celebrities or politicians, but from “local voices” like neighbors, friends, family, and doctors. However, Psaki said the White House applauds former President Trump’s comments.
