CBS’ Brennan Presses Surgeon General on Whether Trump Will Publicly Get Vaccine: Wouldn’t It Help Assuage His Supporters’ Skepticism?

Surgeon General Jerome Adams wouldn’t say why President Donald Trump isn’t doing more to encourage Americans to take the coronavirus vaccine as the inoculation rollout gets underway.

Adams spoke to CBS’s Margaret Brennan on Face The Nation, where the conversation focused on Covid vaccine distribution and the remaining challenges connected to the pandemic. The interview occurred two days after Adams and Vice President Mike Pence got vaccinated together on live TV, and Brennan seemed to allude to that as she noted that Republicans and rural Americans seem to have the greatest level of hesitancy in terms of receiving the vaccine.

“Wouldn’t it help to persuade those Republicans if the Republican president himself came out to try to persuade them to take the vaccine he says he’s so proud he fast-tracked?” Brennan asked. “Do you have plans to have President Trump get a shot in the arm on camera?”

Adams diverted from the core questions by saying Trump is still coming off of the experimental antibody treatments he received when he contracted the coronavirus months ago. He explained that this puts Trump in a position where he can “hold off on getting the vaccine,” though Brennan responded “that doesn’t make you immune.”

After Adams doubled down on his point, Brennan once again asked why Trump isn’t giving a public service announcement to tell his supporters to get vaccinated. Adams declined to answer, instead referring Brennan’s question to the White House.

Watch above, via CBS.