Politics

‘If I Wasn’t President, You Wouldn’t Be Getting That Beautiful Shot’: Trump Credits Himself For Vaccine

(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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Former President Donald Trump credited himself for vaccine distribution in a statement Wednesday night.

“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!” Trump said.

Trump made a similar remark in December, saying people would be talking about “this great thing with the vaccines … years from now.”

“Over and over we were told it would be impossible to deliver a vaccine by the end of the year. We did it long before the end of the year. They said it would take a medical miracle and that’s exactly what it is,” Trump said at the time.

“This is one of the most extraordinary scientific, industrial and medical feats in history,” he said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in early March she doesn’t “think anyone deserves credit when half a million people in the country have died in this pandemic.”

“Our focus is on and what the president’s focused on when he came into office just over a month ago, was ensuring that we had enough vaccines,” she added. “We are going to have them now.”

President Joe Biden, however, credited everyone involved in Operation Warp Speed on Jan. 26. “We want to give credit to everyone involved in this vaccine effort,” he said. “That credit is absolutely due.”

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 10: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event with the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck at the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building March 10, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden announced that the government will purchase 100 million more doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 10: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event with the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck at the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building March 10, 2021 in Washington, DC.( Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Operation Warp Speed was Trump’s plan to combine military expertise, public and private scientific research, and the pharmaceutical industry to create a coronavirus vaccine within 12 to 18 months. The plan cut normal regulatory barriers and sent millions in funds to vaccine production candidates. (RELATED: Operation Warp Speed Was Instrumental In Johnson & Johnson Coronavirus Vaccine)

Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, a frequent critic of Trump, said Operation Warp Speed was a “dramatic success” back in December.

“The Warp Speed project appears to be a dramatic success and I pray that it will be. Although I’ve been a frequent critic of this administration, I want to give them credit for organizing this effectively, and delivering a vaccine in a timely way–almost amazing timely way–in this pandemic that we face,” Durbin said on the Senate floor.