Brian Kilmeade: Why Doesn’t Biden ‘Yell’ at African-Americans ‘Who Put Him in Office’ to Get the Vaccine?
Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade asked why President Joe Biden wasn’t yelling at his African-American supporters to get vaccinated during an interview with Representative Dr. Ronny Jackson.
At issue is the recently announced policy that all companies with over 100 employees should require their staff members to either get vaccinated for Covid-19 or submit to a weekly test to prove they are not infected. Even though nearly 700,000 Americans have died due to the deadly pathogen, Biden’s new policy has become an immediate wedge issue for Republicans eager to paint it as government overreach, which curiously ignores many vaccination requirements already on the books for diseases such as polio and rubella.
Rep. Jackson served as the personal doctor to President Donald Trump during his first couple of years in office and has since been elected as a Republican member of the House of Representatives. He admitted to having been vaccinated, but only because, in his words, Speaker Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t allow him to travel overseas without it.
Kilmeade has consistently presented a skeptical point of view towards Covid-19 vaccinations or has consistently said that viewers should talk to their doctor (which has caused a rift with co-host Steve Doocy on at least one occasion.) Reports that the FDA will soon approve a vaccine for children under 12 got Kilmeade’s dander up on Monday morning.
“I don’t want a politician telling me what to do with a 5-year-old,” he exasperated. “That should be parent and pediatrician. I’m sure you agree with that.” However, Kilmeade’s description here is off, as the FDA is not comprised of politicians, and no politicians are currently forcing anyone of any age to get a vaccination.
Kilmeade continued, saying, “When the United States president is losing patience, he is losing patience with PhDs. They are one of the largest sections of people who aren’t getting the shot,” he proclaimed without sourcing his information. Medical workers as well as, for instance, because only four of ten have gotten the shot.”
He then pivoted to the racial demographics of political parties and took clear aim at African-American voters who largely supported Biden in the 2020 election. “Why doesn’t the president call out African-Americans who put him in office and yell at them to get the shot?” he asked rhetorically.
It is also not clear where Kilmeade is getting his information on African-American vaccination rates. According to a poll from August 24th, Black Americans were outpacing White Americans in the vaccination rate by double digits, according to an NBC News poll. Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher reported as much at the time, writing:
Black and Latino Americans lagged behind in vaccination rates for months as polls showed hesitancy among various communities, but vaccination rates among Black people have dramatically increased during the Delta surge.
That increase is reflected in the NBC News/Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies poll released Tuesday. Respondents were asked “Have you already gotten the vaccine?”
Among all adults, 69 percent say they have gotten the vaccine, with 13 percent saying they will not take the vaccine, and the rest either unsure or expressing some willingness to eventually get vaccinated.
Black Americans were the racial group most likely to say they’ve been vaccinated at 76 percent, with Latinos also above the average at 71 percent, and White people at 66 percent.
Mediaite reached out to Fox News regarding the sourcing of Kilmeade’s assertions and will update the post if they return the query.
UPDATE: Fox News pointed out a report from Carnegie Mellon in July of 2021 that identified vaccine hesitancy among different demographics:
The study also highlights key differences in hesitancy by race and age subgroups. For example, in May, younger Black people are more hesitant than younger white people, while the reverse is true in older populations. Generally, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was higher among young (ages 18-24), non-Asian people, and less educated (≤ high school diploma) adults, and those with PhDs, with a history of a positive COVID-19 test, not worried about serious illness from COVID-19 and living in regions with greater support to Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
As we reported about the racial demographics, findings from that report appear to now be outdated.
Watch above via Fox News.
