President Biden said Monday he does not need the help of his predecessor to sell the importance of COVID-19 vaccinations to skeptical conservatives, even after his top White House spokeswoman said he would welcome former President Donald Trump’s help in reaching his supporters.
A slew of polls suggests Trump fans are the most vaccine-hesitant group in the country, prompting calls for the former president to speak out on the subject.
On Monday, Biden delivered remarks on his COVID-19 rescue plan before being asked about whether Trump could help.
“The thing that has more impact than anything Trump would say to the MAGA folks is what the local doctor, what the local preachers, what the local people in the community say,” he said. “So, I urge, I urge all local docs and ministers and priests to talk about why, why it’s important to get … the vaccine.”
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Health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have said Trump’s voice would go a long way in convincing Republicans to get the vaccine.
Trump was not part of a public service advertisement that featured former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama urging people to get their shot. And he was vaccinated in secret before leaving the White House, even though many officials have chosen to receive their shots in front of cameras to help encourage the public to follow suit.
However, his political comeback speech last month included a brief passage devoted to the importance of the vaccine. “So everybody, go get your shot,” he told an audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference. (Trump and his wife were given their jabs before leaving the White House, but he did not publicly announce those January shots.)
The 45th president’s words provoked a flurry of speculation that he could help accelerate the number of people who receive the vaccine.
Fresh evidence emerged on Sunday of the work still to do. CBS News published a poll showing that almost one-third of Republicans say they will not get the vaccine when it becomes available to them, compared to 10% of Democrats.
Asked about the reluctance of conservatives and Republicans to consider getting immunized, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Trump could have a role to play, only to be contradicted by the president.
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“Well, if former President Trump woke up tomorrow and wanted to be more vocal about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, certainly we’d support that,” Psaki said.
