CNN: Trump advisers urge him to make pro-vaccine PSA

by Olafimihan Oshin - 04/26/21 9:09 PM ET

Former President Trump’s advisers are encouraging him to make a pro-vaccine PSA amid signs that Republican voters are wary of getting the shot, CNN reported Monday.

In a March survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which polled 1,862 adults, 29 percent of Republicans were found to be hesitant about getting the vaccine, while 6 percent said they would get it if required to.

During an appearance on Fox News’s “Hannity” last week, Trump told host Sean Hannity that he would be interested in doing a commercial about the vaccine. Trump also mentioned that he has gotten the shot.

“They want me to make a video,” Trump said to Hannity. “They want me to do a commercial saying, ‘Take the vaccine,’ and they think that’s very important, and I’d certainly do it.”

Trump says that he was “asked to do a commercial saying take the vaccine” because”a lot of our people don’t want to take the vaccine,” but he isn’t too keen on it because of the Johnson & Johnson pause, which he seemingly attributes to the FDA being in bed with Pfizer. pic.twitter.com/LNAKzM4GOb

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) April 20, 2021

Some Trump officials, worried that vaccine hesitancy from Republicans could threaten herd immunity, believe Trump could convince his supporters to go through with the shot, according to CNN.

“Vaccines are widely regarded as one of Trump’s greatest accomplishments, and Trump understands that this legacy is at risk because half of his supporters are not taking the vaccine,” one of the officials told CNN. “It’s just not clear yet if he understands that he’s the only one who can fix this.”

The former president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, recently shared a photo of herself receiving a vaccine dose.