Democrat Lieu pokes Trump on vaccines while announcing COVID diagnosis

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) announced Tuesday that he recently tested positive for COVID-19 and took the opportunity to thank former President Trump for his role in supporting the vaccine development.

“I recently tested positive for COVID. I’m vaccinated and symptoms are not severe,” Lieu wrote on the social platform X.

“I want to thank Donald Trump for being a bigly believer in COVID vaccines and starting Operation Warp Speed,” he added.

The Trump administration launched Operation Warp Speed in May 2021, which helped pharmaceutical companies use a relatively new technology to make two very effective and safe COVID-19 vaccines in less than a year. Experts estimated the vaccines prevented 14.4 million deaths in a single year.

Throughout the campaign, Trump has performed a complicated tap dance on COVID vaccines. He has both taken credit for their speedy development but also criticized their use. He also often knocked his now former 2024 presidential primary rivals for being too pro-vaccine.

Trump has said he would not “give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate” — focusing on the mandates, rather than the vaccines themselves, while still embracing some of the concerns of the anti-vaccine movement.

COVID-19 levels have increased around the country recently, as many public officials also announce positive diagnoses.

In July alone, President Biden, second gentleman Douglas Emhoff and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) all tested positive for COVID-19.