White House COVID-19 task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci told “Fox News Sunday” that it would “make all the difference in the world” if former President Donald Trump urged his supporters to get vaccinated for coronavirus.
During the Sunday morning interview, Fox News anchor Chris Wallace asked Fauci about how much impact Trump could have with vaccine hesitancy as the supply eventually begins to outpace demand.
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“I think it would make all the difference in the world,” Fauci responded. “He’s a very widely popular person among Republicans. If he came out and said, ‘go and get vaccinated, it’s really important for your health, the health of your family, and the health of the country,’ it seems absolutely inevitable that the vast majority of people who are his close followers would listen to him.”
Fauci told Wallace he was “surprised” at the percentage of self-identified Republicans who tell pollsters they won’t get vaccinated when it’s their turn.
“I don’t understand where that’s coming from,” he said. “This is not a political issue. This is a public health issue.”
Responding to a question from Wallace about why Trump hasn’t “spread that message” when his Operation Warp Speed has been “largely responsible for the fact that we have all these vaccines available now,” Fauci called it “puzzling.” (RELATED: What’s ‘The Science’ For Why Vaccinated Americans Shouldn’t Travel? Fauci Can’t Find An Answer)
“Clearly Operation Warp Speed started in the Trump administration. It was very successful in getting us the vaccines we have right now. It seems like an intrinsic contradiction, the fact that you had a program that was started during his presidency and he is not out telling people to get vaccinated. I wish he would. He has such incredible influence over people in the Republican Party. It would really be a gamechanger if he did.”