Don tells extremist Greene: Vaccine good, mandates bad
He’s for COVID vaccines but against making anyone get one.
Former President Donald Trump told Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), one of the most outspoken anti-vaxxers in Congress, that he supports the COVID-19 vaccine but opposes making the shots mandatory.
“He is 100% AGAINST the mandates, but he still encourages everyone to get the vaccine and booster,” Greene said in a lengthy Twitter thread after they chatted by phone late Monday. “That’s his position.”
Greene, who calls Trump her “favorite president of all time,” refrained from criticizing her political hero even though she spews dangerous misinformation about the vaccines that Trump celebrates as a crucial part of his presidential legacy.
Trump (photo) and Greene found less contentious common ground by discussing their shared disdain for so-called pragmatic “Republicans in Name Only,” like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), whom they blame for enabling President Biden’s agenda.
“I told him I’m sick and tired of weak, pathetic Republicans who won’t fight hard against the Democrats Communist agenda,” Greene wrote. “He agrees. RINO’s are the worst!”
Trump may have been seeking to use the chat with Greene to shore up his far-right flank after getting criticism from some extremists for emphatically backing the vaccination and booster shot campaign in a contentious interview with prominent anti-vaxxer Candace Owens.
Contrary to their deep loyalty to Trump, Greene and other MAGA lawmakers are among the most outspoken and influential voices undermining the vaccine campaign he proudly spearheaded during and after his time in the White House.
The split with Trump over vaccines has become even more apparent in recent days since the former president won rare praise for his pro-vaccine stance from Biden and public health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Greene and Trump discussed other issues in lockstep with each other, like the need for a harsher crackdown on undocumented immigrants and a more aggressive foreign policy.