Letter: Operation Warp Speed
Published: 5/7/2021 9:13:10 AM
Both Biden and Trump deserve some credit for getting the vaccines flowing, though Biden stands to benefit from being in power during the nation’s emergence from the pandemic. Biden’s relief package has broad support, according to public poling. The former president largely ignored the pandemic and the success of the vaccine’s development in his final months in office, consumed instead by spreading claims of election fraud. Trump did not appear in a public service announcement in which our former living presidents encouraged all Americans to get the vaccine.
A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 42% of Republicans say they probably or definitely will not get the shot, compared with 17% of Democrats. On the other side, Republicans largely believe that most Americans are doing just fine after the GOP, under Trump’s leadership, put the country on a path to recovery before Democrats took over. They note that hundreds of billions of dollars remain un-spent from last year’s rescue package. It’s undeniable that the former president’s Operation Warp Speed gave Biden something to build on as soon as he took over.