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‘Trump’s A Liberal New Yorker. Why Would We Listen To Him Either?’ — Man In Oklahoma Responds To CNN Reporter On Vaccine

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A man in Oklahoma told a CNN reporter Wednesday that he wouldn’t take the coronavirus vaccine if former President Donald Trump firmly urged him to.

“Trump’s a liberal New Yorker, why would we listen to him either?” the man told CNN reporter Gary Tuchman.

The man told Tuchman that Trump “was the best option” when asked if he voted for the former president. No one raised their hand when Tuchman asked people at a restaurant if they believed getting the vaccine would be a beneficial idea.

WATCH:

President Joe Biden told reporters Monday that he’s spoken with senior advisors over requesting the former president if he can endorse the vaccine to his hesitant supporters. A NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found that 41% of Republicans said they wouldn’t get the vaccine, while 49% of GOP men and 34% of women categorized said they wouldn’t get the vaccine.

The poll also found that 47% of white evangelical Christians who backed Trump in 2020 said they wouldn’t get vaccinated.

One man told Tuchman he wasn’t going to receive the coronavirus vaccine due to mistrust in President Joe Biden and the government.

“Well I don’t trust the government and I don’t trust Biden,” the man told the CNN reporter.

Another man who is a grocery store supervisor told Tuchman he got the vaccine at the behest of his wife.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that the administration would back the former president if he promoted the vaccine, according to a press briefing transcript. Psaki said previous presidents who have publicly engaged in promoting the vaccine “did not need an engraved invitation to do so.”

“Well, if former President Trump woke up tomorrow and wanted to be more vocal about the safety and efficacy of the campaign — of the vaccine, certainly we’d support that,” Psaki said, according to the transcript. “But also, I think what’s important to note is that, as I noted, 81 percent of Republicans said they would trust their own doctor or healthcare provider, and that’s an important place to invest.”

“So he may decide he should do that. If so, great. But there are a lot of different ways to engage, to reach out, to ensure that people of a range of political support and backing know the vaccine is safe and effective,” Psaki said, according to the transcript.

The poll was conducted from March 3 to March 8 among 1,227 participants with a 3.6 percent margin of error.