Nearly all of the living former presidents urged people in the United States to get the COVID-19 vaccine in a series of new public service announcements.
Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama teamed up to promote the various vaccines, with the first of the new PSAs being released on Thursday. Former President Donald Trump did not participate in the ads.
DONALD AND MELANIA TRUMP RECEIVED FIRST COVID-19 VACCINE SHOTS AT WHITE HOUSE
The ads, which were overseen by the Ad Council, a nonprofit communications group, were devised by the Group SJR and Pereira O’Dell, according to the Washington Post. The groups worked pro bono.
JUST POSTED: Former presidents Obama, Bush, Clinton, Carter join ad campaign to win over vaccine skeptics.
“This vaccine means hope,” Obama says in one of the new ads going up today, part of @AdCouncil’s national effort. pic.twitter.com/ffmuOsVjSE
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) March 11, 2021
In the ad, Obama said, “This vaccine means hope. It will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease,” while Bush said moments later, “In order to get rid of this pandemic, it’s important for our fellow citizens to get vaccinated. So roll up your sleeve and do your part.”
Bush, Clinton, and Obama all previously signaled their support for the vaccine and offered to do their part in order to persuade the public that the vaccines are safe.
While it remains unclear why Trump did not appear in the PSAs, he released a statement in a tweemail through his post-presidential office a day before the launch of the ads, praising the work of his administration and of drug companies in developing the vaccine.
“I hope everyone remembers when they’re getting the COVID-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) Vaccine, that if I wasn’t President, you wouldn’t be getting that beautiful ‘shot’ for 5 years, at best, and probably wouldn’t be getting it at all. I hope everyone remembers!”
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While the former presidents and first ladies can be seen getting their vaccine in the PSAs, Trump and former first lady Melania Trump were quietly vaccinated, having received their first dose while still in the White House. Both were infected with COVID-19 last September, and the former president was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a few days before he recovered.
The Ad Council told the Washington Examiner on Thursday that the project started in December while Trump was still president and noted that one of the PSAs was filmed at President Biden’s inauguration, which Trump didn’t attend, in response to questions about whether Trump was invited to participate in them.
Ellyn Fisher, a spokeswoman for the Ad Council, said the organization learned that the president got vaccinated last week and is “so pleased he advised Americans to ‘go get your shot,’” but she did not address questions as to who is responsible for Trump’s lack of involvement.
Trump’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More than 32 million people in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated, slightly less than 10% of the population. Approximately twice that amount have received at least one dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker.
