Trump Complains FDA Approval of Vaccine Took ‘More Time Than They Were Supposed to Take’

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As some on the right suggest that the FDA approval process was improperly expedited by President Biden, former President Donald Trump was arguing the opposite while talking up his administration’s work on vaccines.

The former president has put out multiple statements in the past few months touting the success of Operation Warp Speed getting three vaccines to Americans while adding at one point “with that being said, people have their freedoms and they have their right to choose.”

During a rally Saturday in Alabama, Trump recommended his supporters get the vaccine. People actually booed him, and he added, “That’s okay, that’s alright. You got your freedoms, but I happened to take the vaccine.”

The former president spoke with Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe on her podcast The Truth, and during the interview they touched on the big news about the FDA giving full approval to the Pfizer vaccine.

Boothe said she was concerned about “how fast” the full approval process was, though Trump started by saying, “They took a lot of time and they took more time than they were supposed to take. And that’s because nobody pushes them.”

“We did a vaccine that nobody could have done,” he continued. “It would have taken forever. We got it done, and I’ll tell you, saved millions and millions and millions of lives throughout the world. So we’re very proud of that.”

LISTEN:

However, the former president went on to add, “With that being said, people have their freedoms and they have their right to choose, etc., etc. But we did an incredible job on the vaccines.”

Trump recently undermined the effort to promote booster shots for Americans by insinuating it’s a “money-making operation for Pfizer.” Admiral Brett Giroir — who was covid testing czar during the Trump administration — said he does support booster shots.

Former Vice President Mike Pence celebrated the FDA fully approving the Pfizer vaccine, and he was attacked by Jenna Ellis — who was part of the Trump 2020 legal team — for it.

Reasons no conservative will vote for Pence ever again: this is basically an endorsement of mandates. https://t.co/0Mp1zoTwLr

— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) August 23, 2021

You can listen to Trump’s comments above (the relevant part starts at the 26:30 mark).