During the 2020 election there was an effort by the mainstream media and Democrats, like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to publicly cast doubts in the minds of Black Americans about the Trump Administration’s efforts to combat COVID-19.
Despite President Trump mobilizing a whole-of-government approach to fight the virus and launching Operation Warp Speed—which ultimately led to the fastest creation of a vaccine in modern history—Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, repeatedly cast doubt on the process and vaccine for political purposes. But now that they are in office, they are happy to try and claim credit for the successes and strong foundation that President Trump created.
When Kamala Harris was asked about getting the vaccine before the election she said, “I will say that I would not trust Donald Trump and it would have to be a credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever he’s talking about.”
Kamala Harris knew that Black Americans, namely Black women, looked up to her and respected her opinion as candidate for Vice President. She knew that her words would carry weight with Democrat voters so when she cast doubt about the vaccine to a community that has been disproportionately ravaged by the virus, it was a move that could cost lives.
Joe Biden also sowed doubt, taking a page out of the fear-mongering playbook of the radical left, by questioning if a vaccine approved by President Trump would be safe when he said, “Why do we think, God willing, when we get a vaccine—that is good, works—why do we think the public is gonna line up to be willing to take the injection? We’ve lost so much confidence, the American people, in what’s said [by the Trump administration].” Biden was once again signaling to the American people that the vaccine can’t be trusted, purposefully setting aside the science and the data and the fact that the FDA and private companies were working together to help Americans.
But again now, they are happy to promote it.
Democrats want to have it both ways when it comes to COVID-19 and the recovery. If we must follow facts and data and scientists, then do that. The facts, data and scientists that were working on Operation Warp Speed were doing so during the Trump Administration. The vaccine would not be here today had it not been for President Trump fulfilling his promise of having a safe and effective vaccine by the end of 2020.
When President Trump said, “we are delivering life-saving therapies, and will produce a vaccine before the end of the year, or maybe even sooner,” back in August of 2020 the idea was wildly mocked by the Democrats. But he was right all along.
The partnerships with Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer and others were put in place during the Trump Administration.
The Black woman that helped develop the vaccine did so because of the investments, attention and partnerships put in place during the Trump Administration.
The vaccine distribution plans through our U.S. military were put in place and organized during the Trump Administration.
The development, testing, certifications, trials and creation of the miracle which we now have as a COVID-19 vaccine came about because of the leadership, drive and vision of President Trump and his Coronavirus Task Force made up of doctors and scientists, including Dr. Fauci.
When the Biden team came into power, they chose to keep Dr. Fauci but fire the three highest ranking minority doctors working at the Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Jerome Adams and his two female deputies. When you look at the way COVID-19 has been impacting the Black community, one would think keeping those people in place would be smart to get us through this pandemic.
Now the Biden Administration has to grapple with a problem they helped create: the skepticism Black Americans have with taking the vaccine. While the numbers are slowly improving, the fact remains, we have a problem. According to Pew Research, “Black adults express less confidence in the coronavirus vaccine research and development process—a judgment closely aligned with intent to get vaccinated. Among the 34 percent of Black Americans with low trust in the vaccine R&D process, just 26 percent say they will get a vaccine or have already done so; 72 percent say they will not.”
The Biden Administration needs to be honest and factual about how we got to this point where we are able to deliver a safe vaccine. Credit has to be given where credit is due, and that credit has to go to a vaccine and a distribution plan that he inherited from President Trump.
Paris Dennard is the National Spokesperson and Director of Black Media Affairs for the Republican National Committee (RNC). Follow him on Twitter: @PARISDENNARD.