President Joe Biden mocked individuals who are trying to make the COVID-19 vaccine a “political issue.”
During a town hall on CNN Thursday night, Anderson Cooper asked Biden, “Should police officers, emergency responders be mandated to get vaccines? And if not, should they be–stay at home or be let go?”
He replied, “Yes and yes.” Biden explained he “waited until July to talk about mandating because I tried everything else possible.”
The president continued, “The mandates are working…All the talk about all these folks who are going to leave the military if they’re mandated. Not true. You got about a 90-some percent vaccination rate.”
Biden told Cooper he has two concerns.
“One are those who just try to make this a political issue. ‘Freedom. I have the freedom to kill you with my Covid.’ No, come on. Freedom. Number one,” Biden said.
He added, “Number two, the second one is that, you know, the gross misinformation that’s out there.”
Watch part of the town hall below:
Biden says it concerns him that people make vaccine mandates a political issue:
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) October 22, 2021
“Freedom!,” POTUS said mockingly. “I have the freedom to kill you with my COVID. No, I mean, come on! Freedom?!” pic.twitter.com/HFD7D8bL5q
Biden mentioned former Secretary of State Colin Powell, taking aim at individuals raising concerns about the vaccine following his death.
“‘Colin Powell was vaccinated and he still died.’ Well, he knew he had serious underlying conditions and it would be difficult–he clearly would have been gone earlier had he not gotten the vaccine, had he not gotten the shots. But my generic point is there’s so much misinformation,” Biden said.
Powell died earlier this week due to complications from the virus, as IJR reported. He was 84. CNN reported Powell “had multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells that suppresses the body’s immune response. Even if fully vaccinated against Covid-19, those who are immunocompromised are at greater risk from the virus.”
Fox News’s Tucker Carlson told his audience Powell’s death and the deaths of other individuals who are vaccinated “tells you you’ve been lied to. Vaccines may be highly useful for some people, but across a population, they do not solve covid.”
