Public figures on the left spent months saying that they wouldn’t trust a vaccine produced under former President Donald Trump’s administration, but are now shaming people who say they won’t take the vaccine.
MSNBC host Joy Reid said multiple times that she would not trust a vaccine made by Trump or his “politicized” Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In one tweet she mocked “Operation Warp Speed,” the effort that the Trump administration made in order to get a vaccine made as fast as possible.
“Frankly, the fact that Pfizer was not part of ‘Operation Warp Speed’ and took no Trump government funding makes me feel better about their vaccine,” she said. “Just speaking for myself, I wouldn’t go near anything that Trump or his politicized FDA had anything to do with.”
Frankly, the fact that Pfizer was not part of “Operation Warp Speed” and took no Trump government funding makes me feel better about their vaccine. Just speaking for myself, I wouldn’t go near anything that Trump or his politicized FDA had anything to do with.
— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) November 9, 2020
Another tweet from Reid asked why “any sensible person” would “take a vaccine Trump had anything to do with.” She also asked why anyone “would ever fully trust” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
After Trump’s HHS, led by a guy who sees shadows on his wall and thinks government scientists are leading a seditious coup vandalized the CDC website with fake news, rending the agency very hard to trust, why would any sensible person take a vaccine Trump had anything to do with? https://t.co/cEtOEmIM0I
— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) September 19, 2020
I mean, will anyone … anyone at all … ever fully trust the @CDCgov again? And who on God’s earth would trust a vaccine approved by the @US_FDA ?? How do we get a vaccine distributed after this broken, Trumpist nonsense has infected everything? Even if Biden wins?
— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) September 18, 2020
Reid later came out and supported “vaccine-only access” to certain businesses and said “anti-vaxxers” who are on ventilators and regret not getting vaccinated have “quite delicate feelings.”
I for one am all for offering people incentives and rewards to get vaccinated, to stop this pandemic and help small businesses. Vaccine-only access to some businesses like bars, gyms, restaurants etc. makes sense to me. If people choose to be unvaxxed, they can just miss out.
— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) April 27, 2021
You know who I’ll bet feels REALLY disrespected?? The doctors and nurses who are having to risk their lives hooking “f—k your feelings” anti-vaxxers (with apparently quite delicate feelings!) up to ventilators because they willfully exposed themselves and their families to COVID. https://t.co/Asxl4WQni8
— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) July 17, 2021
CNN host Brian Stelter made fun of Trump for touting “the promises of yet-to-be-approved vaccines as his panacea” during the pandemic.
“Biden has spent these early days as President-elect pleading with Americans to pay attention to the relentless surge of Covid-19” as Trump “continues to ignore the deepening crisis and touts the promises of yet-to-be-approved vaccines as his panacea.”https://t.co/xl9KdRthEy
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) November 15, 2020
But later, Stelter posted content about “vaccinated Americans feeling “betrayed” by unvaccinated “neighbors” and quoted an article from The Atlantic claiming that unvaccinated people were behaving “willfully and spitefully.” (RELATED: ‘Arrogant, Selfish, Reckless’: Geraldo Rivera Says He Thinks Less Of Unvaccinated People)
Candid convo on @NY1 this morning, about vaccinated Americans feeling “betrayed” by unvaccinated neighbors pic.twitter.com/4nwEKhKIeW
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 28, 2021
“Some considerable number of the unvaccinated” are behaving “willfully and spitefully,” @davidfrum writes. “Yes, they have been deceived and manipulated by garbage TV, toxic Facebook content, and craven or crazy politicians. But…” https://t.co/hoJef9MU0C
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 23, 2021
Vice President Kamala Harris repeatedly said that she would not trust a vaccine created under the Trump administration. But once in office, she spent significant time encouraging people to get the vaccine.
We’re counting on you to roll up your sleeves and get vaccinated. Do it for yourself, for your family, for your community, and for your country. Visit https://t.co/sohfL3zr12 or text your ZIP code to 438829 to find a FREE COVID-19 vaccine near you.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 10, 2021
Today I got the COVID-19 vaccine. I am incredibly grateful to our frontline health care workers, scientists, and researchers who made this moment possible.
When you’re able to take the vaccine, get it. This is about saving lives. pic.twitter.com/T5G14LtFJs
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) December 29, 2020
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow quoted a Washington Post article that stated: “Trump has plotted with his team on a pre-election promotional campaign to try to convince voters a vaccine is safe, approved and ready for mass distribution — even if none of that is true yet.”
“Trump has plotted with his team on a pre-election promotional campaign to try to convince voters a vaccine is safe, approved and ready for mass distribution — even if none of that is true yet.”https://t.co/IWwC8AQ7q2
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) October 19, 2020
She later revealed on her show that she saw maskless people as a threat and assumed “you are selfish or you are a COVID denier and you definitely haven’t been vaccinated” if you don’t wear a mask. Maddow said she would have to “rewire her brain” to stop perceiving people this way.