President Donald Trump is closing the year out with a message, including what he believes is his biggest accomplishment.
“Over and over again, we were told it would be impossible to deliver a vaccine by the end of the year. All of the experts said, ‘Absolutely unthinkable. Trump is exaggerating. It can’t happen.’ And we did it long before the end of the year,” Trump said in a video he posted to Twitter on Thursday.
He added, “They said it would take a medical miracle and that’s exactly what it is. Years from now, they’ll be talking about it. They’ll be talking about this great, great thing that we did with the vaccines.”
Trump said because of Operation Warp Speed, a vaccine was developed in just nine months.
“The world will benefit. We’ll benefit. And everybody’s calling to thank me,” Trump explained.
Watch his comments below:
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2020
President-elect Joe Biden is not sold on the idea the Trump administration’s rollout of the vaccine has been flawless, as IJR previously reported.
“The Trump administration’s plan to distribute vaccines is falling behind, far behind,” Biden said while delivering remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday.
He continued, “But as I have long feared and warned, the effort to distribute and administer the vaccine is not progressing as it should.”
Biden suggested if vaccine distribution continues at this rate it will “take years, not months, to vaccinate” every American.
Vice President Mike Pence responded to Biden’s remarks on Twitter on Tuesday, as IJR previously reported.
“Operation Warp Speed is on track to distribute 20 Million doses of Coronavirus Vaccine by next week,” Pence wrote. “Millions of Americans have been vaccinated and we are working with States every day to vaccinate millions more. This is no time for playing politics!”
Dr. Anthony Fauci acknowledged during his appearance on NBC’s “Today,” the government did not reach its goal of vaccinating 20 million Americans by the end of the year.
“Obviously, it didn’t happen, and that’s disappointing,” he said.