Left-Wing Reporters Rush To Distort What Trump Said About New York Getting The Vaccine

Left-wing reporters rushed to distort what President Donald Trump said at news conference on Friday about the state of New York getting a vaccine that was developed in conjunction with the administration’s Operation Warp Speed.

Trump said that he wants the state to get the vaccine, but he is holding off on sending the vaccine to the state because New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo said last month that Americans “should” be “very skeptical” about taking any COVID-19 vaccine developed by the FDA under the Trump administration. Cuomo added that he is going to have his own experts review the vaccine to see if he’ll allow New Yorkers to receive it.

“Well, what I said I’m going to do in New York is we’re going to put together our own group of doctors and medical experts to review the vaccine and the efficacy and the protocol, and if they say it’s safe then I’ll go to the people of New York and I will say it’s safe with that credibility,” Cuomo said. “But I believe all across the country, you’re going to need someone other than this FDA and this CDC saying it’s safe.”

At the press conference today, Trump said:

As soon as April, the vaccine will be available to the entire general population with the exception of places like New York state, where, for political reasons, the governor decided to say – and [you know], I don’t think it’s good politically, I think it’s very bad from a health standpoint, but he wants to take his time with the vaccine. He doesn’t trust where the vaccine’s coming from. These are coming from the greatest companies anywhere in the world, greatest labs in the world, but he doesn’t trust the fact that it’s this White House, this administration, so we won’t be delivering it to New York until we have authorization to do so, and that pains me to say that.

This is a very successful, amazing vaccine at 90% and more, but so the governor, Governor Cuomo, will have to let us know when he’s ready for it, otherwise we can’t be delivering it to a state that won’t be giving it to its people immediately. And I know the people of New York very well. I know they want it. So the governor will let us know when he’s ready. He’s had some very bad editorials recently about this statement and what’s happened with respect to nursing homes and his handling of nursing homes, and I hope he doesn’t handle this as badly as he’s handled the nursing homes, but we’re ready to provide it as soon as they let us know that they’ll actually use it.

Left-wing reporters and even New York Attorney General Letitia James immediately tried to falsely spin Trump’s remarks as an example of playing politics with the pandemic.

Any attempt by Donald Trump to deny New York access to a lifesaving #COVID19 vaccine will be met with a lawsuit, plain and simple.

Stop playing politics with people's lives.

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) November 13, 2020

Sullen Trump lashes out at New York, says whole country will get vaccine except New York, until Governor asks nicely. pic.twitter.com/hadL97HrqE

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) November 13, 2020

Trump says the vaccine will be available to everyone by April except in New York state where the governor has decided not to help with that “for political reasons”
Trump is basically manufacturing a standoff with Cuomo over a vaccine that hasn’t shipped yet

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) November 13, 2020

NEW: Trump just said he won't be sending COVID-19 vaccinations to New York.

The president is in a fight with the governor, so he's threatening to withhold a lifesaving vaccine to millions of Americans. He also falsely claimed Pfizer was funded by Operation Warp Speed. It wasn't.

— Chris Riotta (@chrisriotta) November 13, 2020

"We won't be delivering [the vaccine] to New York until we have authorization to do so. That pains me to say that." — Trump is still trying to settle old scores with Cuomo pic.twitter.com/SGKn65oYqH

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 13, 2020

NEW: President Trump says COVID-19 vaccine won’t be shared with New York because of what Governor Cuomo has said about it. “He’s had some very bad editorials,” Trump said.

— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) November 13, 2020