‘I want it NOW’: Trump wants ‘justifications’, rich coming from a guy who’s spent his entire career dodging them

President Donald Trump is now demanding that drug companies prove their COVID-19 vaccines were successful. The pressure comes after Trump’s health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the CDC director and made major changes to vaccine policies. Trump says he has seen great data from companies like Pfizer but wants them to share it with the public.

The controversy started when CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired after refusing to support Kennedy’s demands to change vaccine recommendations. Four top CDC officials resigned in protest on the same day, leaving the nation’s top health agency without key leaders. The departing officials said Kennedy was pushing unscientific policies and trying to weaponize public health for political reasons.

In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump wrote that drug companies need to justify their COVID vaccines. “It is very important that the Drug Companies justify the success of their various Covid Drugs. Many people think they are a miracle that saved Millions of lives. Others disagree! With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW,” he declared. Trump said he has been shown extraordinary information from Pfizer and other companies but complained they don’t share these results with the public.

Trump questions his own vaccine program’s success

Trump also raised doubts about Operation Warp Speed, the vaccine development program he launched during his first presidency. “I hope OPERATION WARP SPEED was as ‘BRILLIANT’ as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why???” he wrote. This marks a shift for Trump, who previously called the vaccine program one of his greatest achievements and said it saved millions of lives.

Operation Warp Speed was launched in May 2020 with $14 billion in government funding to speed up vaccine development. The program helped develop vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna that were about 95% effective. Trump called these vaccines “a modern-day miracle” when they were first approved in December 2020. The program cut normal vaccine development time from years to less than 12 months.

Senator Bernie Sanders responded to Trump’s comments by defending Operation Warp Speed. “Mr. Trump: You were right about the success of Operation Warp Speed and the COVID vaccine when you said that it saved ‘tens of millions of lives.’ Vaccines have also helped eliminate polio, measles and smallpox. Don’t backtrack. Stick with the scientists, not conspiracy theorists,” Sanders wrote on social media. Meanwhile, Kennedy thanked Trump for his “commitment to Gold Standard Science” despite the ongoing turmoil at the CDC.

The timing of Trump’s demands comes as his administration has already limited COVID vaccine access. Kennedy announced that COVID vaccines would only be recommended for adults over 65 and people with health conditions that put them at high risk. This decision upset public health experts who worry it will reduce protection for vulnerable groups like pregnant women and children. Kennedy has also replaced all CDC vaccine advisors with his own picks, including several vaccine skeptics.