President Biden and former President Trump may be bitter political rivals but they managed to trade compliments amid the ongoing pandemic.
When Mr. Biden paid a rare compliment to his predecessor for the development of COVID-19 vaccines, Mr. Trump was surprised but gracious.
“I’m very appreciative of that — I was surprised to hear it,” Mr. Trump said in an interview Tuesday on Fox News Digital.
Mr. Trump frequently gripes that he has not received enough credit for getting the vaccines off the ground at record speed.
The holiday goodwill began earlier that day when Mr. Biden hailed the Trump administration for its efforts to launch the COVID-19 vaccines.
“Thanks to the prior administration and our scientific community, America is one of the first countries to get the vaccine,” Mr. Biden said in a speech from the White House addressing the COVID surge.
Mr. Biden also applauded Mr. Trump for getting a COVID-19 booster shot, saying “it may be one of the few things he and I agree on.”
During an event Sunday with former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly in Dallas, Mr. Trump told the audience that he received the booster shot, eliciting boos from some in the crowd.
“Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t,” Mr. Trump says in a video of the event tweeted by Mr. O’Reilly. “That’s all right, it’s a very tiny group over there.”
In a longer video tweeted by Mr. O’Reilly, the former president warns supporters that they are “playing right into their hands” when they dismiss the vaccines.
“Look, we did something that was historic, we saved tens of millions of lives worldwide. We, together, all of us, not me,” Mr. Trump said.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
Health, The New York Today
