Donald Trump stood up to rightwing pundit Candace Owens when she claimed the COVID-19 vaccines don’t work, refuting her talking points about the vaccines. Even White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was impressed.
Trump, who often defied even basic safety COVID safety measures, told Owens in a Daily Wire interview that the COVID vaccines were “one of the greatest achievements, we did it in less than nine months,” referring to the expedited process for vaccine authorization last year.
Related: Candace Owens came for Megan Rapinoe & didn’t get the response she expected
“But now it’s taken a twist, right? We went from ‘this is a good thing and people should have this option’ to ‘military men, you’re going to have to resign because you’re not getting this vaccine.'”
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“Where do you stand on that?” she asked.
“People have to have their freedom,” Trump said, reiterating his opposition to the mandates, but he was more focused on explaining why people should get vaccinated. “But at the same time, it’s one of the greatest achievements of mankind. We would have had a 1917, remember the Spanish flu killed perhaps 100 million people.”
Owens, who is a staunch anti-vaxxer and a Trump supporter, pushed back: “And yet more people have died under COVID this year, by the way, under Joe Biden, than under you. And people took the vaccine this year, so people are questioning how-”
“Oh, no, the vaccine works, but some people aren’t taking it,” Trump responded to her suggestion that the vaccine should somehow have worked on people who refused it.
“The ones that get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don’t take their vaccine, but it’s still their choice.”
“And if you take the vaccine, you’re protected,” he continued. “Look, the results of the vaccine are very good, and, if you do get it, it’s a very minor form. People aren’t dying when they take the vaccine.”
Owens then changed the topic to wearing masks – an effective measure to prevent the spread of the virus that Trump famously did not like when he was president – to get back on common ground with Trump.
“Just going to echo former President Trump here on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines,” Psaki tweeted with video of the interview. “Merry Christmas eve eve. go get boosted.”
Just going to echo former President Trump here on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. Merry Christmas eve eve. go get boosted https://t.co/0PCffM5kHl
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) December 23, 2021
Owens claimed as recently as October of this year to not be vaccinated against COVID.
“I see our media and governments for what they are now: powerless without our incessant fear,” she wrote.
That same month, she suggested the U.S. invade Australia due to its strict COVID prevention measures.
This isn’t the only conspiracy theory Owens has bought into. She has also said that the 2020 elections were “clearly rigged” because her preferred candidate, Trump, didn’t win. There is no evidence that President Joe Biden orchestrated a secret plan in multiple states to steal millions of votes.
