Washington (AP) – President Donald Trump launched Operation warp speed The effort he believes he saved tens of millions of lives amid the suffering of the Covid-19 pandemic. At last week’s Cabinet meeting, he likened it to “one of the greatest achievements ever.”
It was healthy to sit at the table as a proud Trump spoke, Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It’s on fire At the Congressional hearing on Thursday, he includes a shot of highly covid-19, whose boss is still being promoted, due to his work to limit access to the vaccine.
Hearing for 3 hours was exposed A strange dichotomy: One of Trump’s most universal successes in his first term remains Warp Speed’s operation, but the growth of his hand-picked health directors and Trump’s “Make America Great Again” supporters has been distrustful of the highly mRNA vaccine technology the president has defended.
Emphasizing that disparity, much of the praises of Trump’s unprecedented efforts to find a Covid-19 vaccine came from Democrats on Thursday.
Senator Maggie Hassan, DN.H., called Operation Warp Speed ”a monumental achievement.” Sen. Rafael Warnock (D-ga.) told Kennedy that his health was in danger, and Trump said he was “announcing the warp speed he worked for.” Independent Caucusing Democrats, Sen. Bernie Sanders, who said he “normally disagrees” with Trump, citing the president’s remarks about the Covid-19 vaccine, saying the scientific community is behind him.
Republicans were also critical of Kennedy’s approach to vaccines.
Senator Bill Cassidy, a doctor who guaranteed a narrow confirmation of votes for Kennedy, accused of comprehensive success in operational speeds as thousands of people were dying of Covid-19 a day, closing businesses and halting much of daily life.
“Other people said they couldn’t do that. We saved millions of lives worldwide. Trillions of dollars. We reopened the economy. We resumed unbelievable results,” Cassidy questioned Kennedy. “Do you agree that the President deserves a Nobel Prize for Warp Speed’s operational speed?”
Cassidy pivoted sharply when Kennedy replied, “Absolutely Senator.”
He has previously condemned vaccines against Kennedy, tackled lawsuits targeting drug makers, and suggested they had brought conflicts of interest by filling the vacancy on expert witnesses who testified against drug makers and a strong vaccine advisory board.
“It seems contradictory for you to agree with me that the President deserves a huge achievement in this,” Cassidy replied.
Hassan read from X’s post in June 2024. Kennedy wrote that Trump “has a weakness in swamp creatures, especially corporate monopolies, their lobbyists, and their money,” calling it “the most devastating of the most devastating effects of President Trump’s weakness.”
“If you agreed with President Trump that the vaccine saved millions of lives, why did you act closed-room to overturn scientists and limit parents’ freedom to choose a covid vaccine for your children?” Hassan asked.
Kennedy told Hassan, “I’m just making things.”
Restricting access to vaccines
Still, under Kennedy, US regulators have it Limited availability of Covid-19 vaccines For many Americans.
Last month, US regulators approved it Covid-19 shots updated However, it has restricted use by many Americans and removed one of the two available vaccines Young children. The new restrictions have been a breakaway from previous US policies, requiring annual Covid-19 shots for all Americans over six months, and have caused confusion and frustration from some Americans, including parents interested in vaccinating healthy children against the virus.
Many pharmacies are reluctant or legally prohibited to provide vaccines other than those approved by the Food and Drug Administration and other federal authorities.
Several administrative authorities have come to Kennedy’s defense over the vaccine. Mehmet Oz, manager of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said what Kennedy wants is “integrity and integrity” in the vaccine review process.
“The Democrats, as usual, are intellectually illicit to try and fail to drive a wedge between President Trump and Secretary Kennedy,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said Thursday. “Instead of trying to do politics and make stupid noises, Democrats should spend more time together with Secretary Kennedy and the rest of the administration to make America healthy again.”
The White House on Thursday did not directly address criticism from Cassidy. When asked about Kennedy’s testimony, Trump said that he hadn’t seen it, but Kennedy said that “it makes a lot of sense,” and he likes the fact that Kennedy is different.
However, the Louisiana Republican was not the only one who disciplined Kennedy with the vaccine from his party.
“If we make America healthy again, we can’t allow public health to be compromised,” Whip John Baraso, a Senate-mannered Trump ally in Wyoming, told Kennedy. “I’m a doctor. I work on vaccines.”
Meanwhile, North Carolina Sen. Tom Tillis had asked Kennedy a number of questions, saying he would later accept Kennedy’s answers, including how he actually feels about Kennedy’s speed speed.
Trump’s changing message
When asked about the cancellation of Kennedy’s mRNA contract in early August, Trump said the effort was “long ago now, we’re working on something else,” but he said he would continue to talk about it.
“Operation speed was considered one of the most incredible things that have ever been done in this country, whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat,” Trump said. “The efficiency, the way it was done, the distribution, everything about it was amazing.”
But Trump himself was inconsistent with his attitude towards the vaccine.
He said in a social media post this week that the company is responsible for the recent disruption at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as it was not transparent about the science behind the shot. He sometimes embraces unreliable theory that vaccines can cause autism. Trump also threatens to withhold funds from schools with such policies and is fiercely opposed to vaccine mandate.
The anti-vaccine movement within the Trump party has grown since the early days of vaccines. Trump himself did that Booing at the event When it was revealed in December 2021 that he had gotten a Covid-19 booster.
He sought to vainly revert his supporters to manipulate warp speed again and remind them of what was achieved.
“Look, we did something historic. We saved tens of millions of lives all over the world. Together, not us, not us, we, we completed the vaccine, we completed three vaccines, we got an incredible treatment,” Trump said. “This was about to destroy a country far beyond what it is now. Trust me… Don’t let them take it away. Don’t take it from yourself.”
___
Kinnard reported that Chapin, South Carolina, Chapin, Asposi, Des Moines, Thomas Beaumont, Iowa, Laurent Neegard of Washington, and Jill Corbin and Ali Swenson of New York contributed to the report.
