'Gutless': Trump makes a thinly veiled attack on DeSantis — and one reporter says she knows why
Former President Donald Trump has been angering some of his far-right supporters, including Infowars’ Alex Jones, by coming out in favor of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots. Regardless, Trump hasn’t backed down from that pro-vaccine message, which he reiterated during an appearance on One America News this week. And a reference to Republicans who are too “gutless” to openly support vaccines is being described by various media outlets as a swipe at Ron DeSantis, although Trump didn’t actually mention the Florida governor by name.
When Trump was asked if he is reconsidering his support for COVID-19 vaccines, he responded, “Well, I’ve taken it. I’ve had the booster. Many politicians—I’ve watched a couple of politicians be interviewed, and one of the questions was: Did you get the booster? Because, they had the vaccine…. The answer is ‘yes,’ but they don’t want to say it because they’re gutless. You’ve gotta say it, whether you’ve had it or not.”
The former president went on to tell OAN, “The fact is that I think the vaccine has saved tens of millions of people throughout the world. I’ve had absolutely no side effects.”
In recent interviews, DeSantis has been highly evasive when asked whether or not he has received a COVID-19 booster shot.
Vox’s Aaron Rupar tweeted that Trump was obviously referring to DeSantis:
Here's Trump on OAN calling out DeSantis, but not by name: "I watched a couple of politicians be interviewed, and one of the questions was, 'did you get the booster?' Because they had the vaccine ... the answer is yes, but they don't want to say it. Because they're gutless."pic.twitter.com/ak4gNr4z7A— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1642017576
The New York Times' Maggie Haberman also tweeted about the tension between Trump and DeSantis:
Trump making (same point I made yesterday) on vaccines making the virus less severe: \u201cIf they get it, they\u2019re not going to hospitals for the most part and dying,\u201d Trump said. \u201cBefore it was a horror. and now they\u2019re not.\u201d— Maggie Haberman (@Maggie Haberman) 1641961708
Uh yeah read the quotes about how he watches pols not answer, it's almost certainly DeSantis he's referring to— Maggie Haberman (@Maggie Haberman) 1641961744
2/2 not only positioning himself to get credit for a vaccine he once demanded it for, but he is trying to make DeSantis look like a \u201ctypical pol\u201d who won\u2019t be straightforward.— Maggie Haberman (@Maggie Haberman) 1642014402
Trump has yet to say whether or not he will seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2024. A lot could change between now and then, but one person who is being mentioned as a likely candidate for 2024 — assuming Trump doesn’t run — is DeSantis.
