Did Trump REALLY Get Vaccinated? 44 Percent of Republicans Aren’t Sure

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A significant chunk of Republican voters don’t necessarily believe that former President and current Florida resort proprietor Donald Trump actually did get vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a new poll.

In an Economist/YouGov Poll released Wednesday, respondents were asked “Do you believe that Donald Trump has been vaccinated for COVID-19?”

Trust in Trump, who waited months to announce that he had been vaccinated in secret during the waning days of his administration, was low, with just 54 percent of respondents saying that they believe Trump took the vaccine, versus 16 percent who believe he did not, and another 30 percent who aren’t sure.

That skepticism was consistent across partisan lines, even among Republicans. A full 44 percent of GOP voters say they either aren’t sure or do not believe that Trump was actually vaccinated.

The result illustrates a central paradox surrounding the politicization of the Covid vaccine. Trump and his supporters are vociferous in their desire for him to receive credit for helping with the creation of the vaccine.

Yet in this same poll, Republicans (at 28 percent) and Trump voters (at 29 percent) remain, by far, the groups most likely to say they will never get vaccinated. Among those folks, only 6 or 7 percent say they would change their minds if Trump urged them to get vaccinated.

Trump actually has engaged in some light encouragement for people to get vaccinated, but if 44 percent of the target audience are convinced he could be lying about being vaccinated himself, the potential value of any such endorsement at this point seems extremely limited. If Trump had decided to get immunized in public, on TV, who knows what effect that might have had?