Country star reveals how he stopped 'problem' Trump supporters at rallies
Big Kenny and John Rich of Big & Rich performing for attendees at the 2023 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. (Image: Gage Skidmore / Creative Commons)
Country singer John Rich has said he recommended President Donald Trump to refrain from discussing COVID-19 vaccines ahead of the presidential campaign last year after the president asked him why he was receiving boos at his rallies.
Rich made these remarks in an interview on the Try That In a Small Town Podcast aired Monday.
Trump has described the vaccines as safe and effective and has received his vaccination. However, many within the conservative movement have adopted anti-vaccination beliefs and have criticized the vaccine.
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After Trump left the White House in 2021, he frequently took credit for his work on the vaccine rollout.
However, he eventually quit talking about the vaccine while campaigning for the 2024 presidential election because he was facing opposition from conservative voters who were against it. Rich, an ally of Trump, said in the interview that he was the one who suggested Trump reduce his comments on the vaccine.
Rich claims Trump asked him why some of his own supporters were booing him at his campaign rallies. The president asked this question during a meeting attended by various Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Marsha Blackburn (R-S.C.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), along with Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker, according to Rich.
"This is the question from the president of the United States. A guy who is very proud, at the moment, that he was able to stomp the gas pedal and get that thing out because he's under the impression this is going to fix the problem," Rich told the podcast host.
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Rich further said he informed Trump about the booing from the audience, attributing it the public's lack of trust in "people that you were forced to trust at the time," in a reference to federal agencies such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.
