Trump rarely talks about COVID on the campaign trail

I think Trump's biggest mistake, I hate that he knows I'm saying he made a mistake, was trusting [Dr. Anthony] Fauci, Young said of the former federal infectious disease expert who was vilified by conservatives for favoring COVID shutdowns and vaccines.

But Young said Trump isn't compounding that mistake by making another one by talking about COVID.

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I don't think he wants to talk about it, Young said. It's just too controversial.

The deadly pandemic has affected just over a fifth of Trump's presidency, but one would never know that from listening to him on the campaign trail in 2024. He rarely mentions COVID. When he does, it's usually a brief comment that the pandemic has derailed some of his presidential plans like an untimely speed bump. So he'll complain that he doesn't get enough credit for doing a great job on COVID, an assessment that most public health experts strongly dispute.

Edward President Donald Trump in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, in April. 13. Jim Puzzanghera/Globe Staff

Trump publicly downplayed the threat of the virus in early 2020, a decision he told author Bob Woodward was intentional to avoid creating panic. As the pandemic took hold, Trump declared a national emergency and called for a voluntary shutdown of the country, but quickly pushed for America to return to normal as the death toll continued to soar.

He came up with bizarre and dangerous ideas to avoid the virus, including suggesting people inject bleach into their lungs. He eschewed mask-wearing and social distancing, then survived arguably the world's most high-profile COVID case, before losing the 2020 election, with public opinion polls showing voters had much more confidence in Joe Biden to manage the pandemic.

The only aspect of his pandemic response that Trump could legitimately trumpet and get bipartisan credit for was Operation Warp Speed, the government program that accelerated the development of COVID vaccines. But Trump has largely refrained from touting vaccines since 2021, when he was booed at an Alabama rally and during an appearance in Dallas after saying he had received a COVID vaccine.

I really don't want to talk about it because, as a Republican, it's not a good thing to talk about it, because for some reason it's just not the case, Trump told Fox News in June 2023. In recent months, Trump has often vowed at his rallies that he would deny federal funds to any school that has a vaccination mandate or mask mandate, a line that draws big applause.

His problem is that he is personally proud of vaccine development, but his core audience has not only moved on but is very negative about the experience, said Robert J. Blendon, professor emeritus of health policy and analysis. politics at Harvard TH Chan. School of public health that studied the public response to the pandemic.

Polls show that Republicans have much less confidence in the vaccine than Democrats and were more strongly opposed to shutdowns and mask requirements. Even some high-profile Trump supporters are critical of his handling of COVID and say it makes sense that he would avoid the topic.

All I know is that when he talks about vaccines at his rallies, he gets booed, said Sen. Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin and an ardent opponent of the COVID vaccine. That should mean something to him.

A Trump campaign spokesperson did not respond to emailed requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Republican National Committee did not directly address Trump's handling of the pandemic, but said in a statement that four years after COVID, many Americans are still struggling economically under President Biden, unlike under Trump's record of success as president.

Biden also rarely talks about his COVID response, as polls show it ranks very low among voters' concerns. But when it came to his predecessor's handling of the pandemic, he recently went all-in.

Trump opened that door on March 18 when he asked on social media whether Americans were better off than they were four years ago, precisely when COVID began rampaging across America. Biden's campaign seized on the comment, creating an online ad criticizing Trump's COVID leadership and posting almost daily flashbacks on social media to events exactly four years earlier.

Four years ago today, Trump complained that investigations into COVID testing shortages were a partisan witch hunt against him, Biden's campaign posted on X Thursday.

And Biden himself has frequently ridiculed Trump's COVID response in public remarks since then.

When the pandemic hit, Trump failed in the most basic duty a president owes to the American people: a duty of care and a duty to respond, Biden said at a fundraiser Tuesday in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Remember when he told us: Do not worry; will everything be over by Easter? Remember when he told us, literally, to inject bleach?

Americans are eager to forget about COVID, so it's unlikely to be a major campaign issue, Republican strategist Doug Heye said. During his presidential campaign, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tried to attack Trump for listening to Fauci's advice, but achieved no success in the Republican primaries. But the pandemic still resonates with many Republicans and could be a problem for Trump because of independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s anti-vaccination stance, Heye said.

This is a potential weakness, especially as we all try to figure out who Robert F. Kennedy is. [Jr.] hurts more? Well, on this issue, it's potentially Trump, Heye said. It may be 2 percent [of voters]but 2 percent could have an impact.

Although Trump doesn't talk much about COVID, many in his party do and the federal government's response still makes them angry, said Sen. Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky.

I would say it's a daily topic of conversation when we travel. People are insisting we never go into lockdown again, said Paul, an ophthalmologist who has said he won't give the COVID vaccine to his children. DeSantis tried to make this an issue in the primary and failed to do so. …I think the primary participants may have chosen to vote for former President Trump for a reason other than just the COVID crisis. They could have agreed with DeSantis on this.

Former President Donald Trump leaves after speaking at a rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania on April 13. Andrew Harnik/Getty

At Trump's April 13 rally, in front of several thousand people in a grassy field just north of Allentown, he didn't even make his usual brief mention of COVID during a roughly 65-minute speech. He simply reiterated his vow to deny funding to schools requiring a vaccine or mask, drawing a typical roar of approval from the crowd.

He doesn't want to talk about the vaccine. The vaccine was [expletive], said Laura Hartshorne, 62, a real estate agent from Northampton, Pa., who attended the rally. He was bamboozled. They told him it was safe and everything…and he's really not the type to admit that they told him it was fine and it wasn't.

Bode Brewer of Reading, Pennsylvania, is only 17 years old. But after his birthday in July, he'll be eligible to vote in November and he's eager to vote for Trump, who he says deserves credit for handling COVID.

I think Trump's greatest achievement…and some conservatives are very divided on this, is the whole issue of vaccines. [Operation] Warp Speed, Brewer said at the rally. Look, even the far left will admit that this was a great success.

He was not vaccinated, but several older family members who were at high risk for COVID received the vaccine.

We're not against the vaccine, said Brewer, who volunteered for the Trump 2020 campaign and attended 29 rallies. We just want personal choice.

Young, the New Jersey man who attended 74 Trump rallies, also hasn't been vaccinated and remembers screaming arguments with family members about it. So he understands why Trump has effectively removed COVID from his vocabulary.

Young, who works for a debt relief company and acts on the side, concluded: “It's almost impossible to talk about.

Correction: A previous version of this story contained a second incorrect reference to Bode Brewer.

Jim Puzzanghera can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him @JimPuzzanghera.

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