The Republican Reckoning on COVID Vaccines Has Finally Arrived – Vanity Fair

Sarah Huckabee Sanders may not be the White House press secretary anymore, but when an opportunity for some Donald Trump image management presents itself, shes still got it. As the spread of the COVID-19 delta variant and rising caseloads coincides with stagnant vaccination rates and heightened concerns about health misinformation, the Arkansas candidate for governor put her platform to good use in an op-ed Sunday that urged people to get inoculated with the Trump vaccine.

The gubernatorial candidate highlighted how caseloads and hospitalizations are rising exponentially in the state shes running in, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, and cited data about the benefits of getting vaccinated, noting that if getting vaccinated was safe enough for [President Trump and his family], I felt it was safe enough for me. Sanderss persuasion tactics also brought in right-wing talking points politicizing the public health issue, such as through bashing Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Biden administration, as well as scorning liberal media outlets that did not give President Trump and his team the credit they are due.

On the downside, Sanderss rhetoric isnt exactly factual, and it will likely add to mistrust of the current administration. But it will likely resonate with her Republican base, many of whom may be resistant to the idea of getting the COVID vaccine. The urgent need for those holdouts to change their mind has necessitated a certain type of strategic communication. What [holdouts] dont want is to be indoctrinatedtheyre willing to be vaccinated, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie said on ABCs This Week Sunday, noting one of the places where our leaders have fallen down is theyre not explaining the facts to Republicans hesitant or completely unwilling to get the shot. These folks do not respond to being ordered to do those things, he said, noting its a libertarian type of response to perceived government overreach. You have to walk them through the logic of this, he said.

Some Republican officials are increasingly adopting that approach as parts of the party shift their messaging to promote the vaccine, including some lawmakers who have either actively or passively fueled vaccine reluctance, the Associated Press reports. After holding off on getting vaccinated for months, Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, shared photos of himself receiving his first dose earlier this month and called it safe and effective. The Louisiana congressmans decision comes as his state, where only 36% of eligible residents are fully vaccinated, confronts a delta-fueled surge in hospitalizations and infections.

Even conservative leaders now are having a hard time figuring out how to rein in what had primarily been a propaganda campaign, and they are now realizing their constituencies are particularly vulnerable, Eric Ward, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, told the AP. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida whose 2022 reelection campaign merch includes beer koozies that say Dont Fauci My Florida, recently noted that nearly all COVID-19 hospitalizations are among unvaccinated people and affirmed that these vaccines are saving lives. Theres been an overall shift in some corners of Fox Newsa network that has for months amplified misinformation and politicized the shots.

By now, though, it may be too little, too late. Once you are opposed, it is very hard to change that position. And thats whats happening right now, Republican pollster Frank Luntz told the AP. Some officials are now urging constituents to use common sense, as Alabama governor Kay Ivey did last week, though without indicating that shell impose new safety restrictions in her state. These folks are choosing a horrible lifestyle of self-inflicted pain, she said of unvaccinated people. I can encourage you to do something, but I cant make you take care of yourself. Republican Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire seemed similarly resigned to his states diminished vaccination rates, telling the AP that there are no new measures to encourage vaccination on the immediate horizon and its folks individual responsibility. If someone hasnt been vaccinated at this point, theyve made that conscious decision not to.

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The Republican Reckoning on COVID Vaccines Has Finally Arrived - Vanity Fair