During Wednesday’s press conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki falsely claimed that former President Trump told people to “inject versions of poisons into their veins to cure COVID,” after being asked if President Biden caused vaccine hesitancy over comments he made during his candidacy.
“As the president tries to reach unvaccinated Americans, has there been any thought given looking back to the possibility that he may have created some vaccine hesitancy when last year around this time the previous administration was rushing to get a vaccine authorized?” the reporter asked. “And the now-president said, ‘I trust vaccines, I trust scientists. But I don’t trust Donald Trump at this moment, the American people can’t either.’”
“Well, I think it’s safe to say he still doesn’t trust Donald Trump. So, that hasn’t changed,” Psaki said. “But he does trust scientists. He does trust data experts. And he does trust the people leading the CDC, the FDA, which is the gold standard of approval for vaccines. I’d also note because this question often comes up, that the President has repeatedly given credit to scientists and experts from the prior administration, even as recently as just a few weeks ago for their role in moving the vaccines forward.”
“I would note that at the time, just for context, the former president was also suggesting people inject versions of poison into their veins to cure COVID,” Psaki falsely claimed. “So, I think that’s a relevant point.”
Doocy to Psaki: "As the President tries to reach unvaccinated Americans, has there any thought given, looking back, to the possibility that he may have created some vaccine hesitancy…when he said, 'I trust vaccines. I trust scientists, but I don't trust Donald Trump.'" pic.twitter.com/nFLpgDHrt6
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 11, 2021
Vice President Kamala Harris made similar anti-vaccine comments to Biden during the vice presidential debate in October last year.
“If Donald Trump tells us that we should take it, I’m not taking it,” she said of the vaccine.
