Samuel Case, FISM News
Just hours after signing the $1.9 trillion America Rescue Plan package, President Biden gave his first prime-time address since taking office. Biden announced that starting May 1st, every American above the age of 18 will be eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine. This comes shortly after it was announced that the U.S. would have enough vaccine for every American adult by the end of May thanks to a partnership between the federal government and Johnson & Johnson.
Biden said his goal is for Americans to achieve a level or normalcy by Independence Day, but he warned Americans need to continue following COVID-19 guidelines like masking and frequent hand-washing until then. “We’ve made so much progress. This is not the time to let up. Just as we are emerging from a dark winter into a hopeful spring and summer is not the time to not stick with the rules,” Biden said.
Republicans criticized Biden’s remarks for pushing reopening and not recognizing Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed as a key factor in the vaccine timeline. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy attacked the president saying his “plan is to rely on the work that has already been done by Operation Warp Speed. ” Adding that “What America needs now is to fully reopen our economy and our classrooms.”
President Biden’s plan is to rely on the work that has already been done by Operation Warp Speed. That’s why only 9% of his “relief” bill went to defeating the virus.
What America needs now is to fully reopen our economy and our classrooms.
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) March 12, 2021
Meanwhile, Trump’s former White House Press Secretary, Kayliegh McEnany, attacked Biden on Fox’s Sean Hannity show for refusing to “tip his hat” to Operation Warp Speed. She noted that even left-leaning outlets like the New York Times and ABC acknowledge Trump’s role in the vaccine’s success. McEnany also observed that Biden’s senior COVID adviser Andy Slavitt recognized the Trump administration’s help in the process, but Biden himself has not done so.
In a Fox New interview, Slavitt said, “We’re grateful for the work that came before us” adding, “the Trump administration made sure that we got in record time a vaccine up and out. That’s a great thing and it’s something we should all be excited about.”
Biden and members of his team have continually claimed the Trump administration left his team with no plan, calling the Trump plan “a mess” and a “dismal failure” and forcing the Biden team to start from “scratch.” Dr. Anthony Fauci refuted this claim saying, “We’re coming in with fresh ideas, but also some ideas with the, with the previous administration, you can’t say it was absolutely not usable at all.”