New York Daily News
Former President Donald Trump is taking a dig at politicians like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who refuse to say if they got the COVID-19 vaccine booster shot.
Calling those who evade the booster question “gutless,” Trump suggested that they are trying to avoid offending anti-vaxxer supporters even though they know the booster shot saves lives.
“They don’t want to say it. Because they’re gutless,” Trump said in a new interview with the conservative One America News Network. “You got to say it. Whether you had it or not. Say it.”
Trump didn’t name DeSantis in the interview that revealed a rare rift between the two. But there is little doubt he was referring to the rising GOP star, who awkwardly dodged questions about whether he had received a COVID-19 vaccine booster in a recent interview.
DeSantis instead said that he had “done whatever I did, the normal shot” in an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business Network.
DeSantis asserted that people should not be pressured to disclose their vaccination status, a common refrain among conservatives and anti-vaxxers.
That didn’t cut it with Trump, who says he has gotten a booster.
“I watched a couple of politicians be interviewed and one of the questions was, ‘Did you get the booster?’ Because they got the vaccine,” he said, a description that applies to DeSantis, as opposed to some other leaders who refuse to say if they got vaccinated at all.
“And they’re: ‘Oh. oh,’ ” he said with a dismissive smirk. “The answer is: yes.”
“President Trump did not mention Governor DeSantis in that interview, so I wouldn’t want to make assumptions,” said DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw in an email Wednesday. “In Florida, COVID-19 vaccination (including boosters) is a private medical decision for each individual to make.”
Trump reportedly views DeSantis as a potential rival for control of the GOP, even though the governor has repeatedly proclaimed his loyalty to the former president.
Trump takes credit for spearheading the development of the COVID-19 vaccines and even political opponents call the program a bright spot in his otherwise chaotic management of the killer pandemic.
He has recently become more outspoken about supporting the vaccination effort, even as a big chunk of his political base has refused to get the shot.
“The vaccine has saved tens of millions of people throughout the world,” Trump added.
Trump also pooh-poohed anti-vaxxer disinformation about the supposed dangers of the lifesaving vaccines and boosters.
“I’ve had absolutely no side effects,” he said. “Nothing special.”
