Former President Donald Trump on Thursday called himself “the father of the vaccine,” and declared that his administration had saved “tens of millions of lives” in its efforts to push for the quick development of COVID-19 shots.
“They’re very ungracious people,” Trump said of the Biden administration during a Fox Business interview on Thursday morning, bemoaning what he believed was undue credit attributed to his successor for the coronavirus vaccine’s development. “I did the vaccine.”
“If I weren’t president — the vaccine — you wouldn’t have a vaccine for five years, three to five years would be the minimum,” Trump continued. “I got it done in less than nine months. And that’s only because of me.”
The comments from an embittered former president striving to claim enduring relevance in the sector of public health which he spent months undermining come on the heels of President Joe Biden on Wednesday addressing a joint session of Congress, touting his administration’s successful vaccine rollout.
In remarks on Wednesday he said that his administration had surpassed its promise to provide 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots in 100 days — “we will have provided over 220 million COVID shots in 100 days,” Biden said.
“When I was sworn in, less than 1% of seniors were fully vaccinated against COVID-19,” he added.
The comments did not sit well with the former president who said that everyone is now eager to get a vaccine “and that was all done by Trump.”
“And look, I guess in a certain way I’m the father of the vaccine because I was the one that pushed it. To get it done in less than nine months was a miracle,” he added.
The comments thirsting for a return to the limelight offered stark contrast with Biden’s tone on Wednesday; during his speech, he praised the American people for their efforts to fight the pandemic.
“But tonight, I can say because of you — the American people – our progress these past 100 days against one of the worst pandemics in history is one of the greatest logistical achievements our country has ever seen,” he said.
