We’ve done quite a few posts dunking on people who thought they’d dunk on President Trump for suggesting that a COVID-19 vaccine could be ready by the end of 2020. Well, it’s December 2020 and the first doses of the vaccine are being doled out. This is one of those instances where you’d think Trump would be owed a lot of apologies, but no one will ever apologize to Trump for anything, ever.
We were counting on Drew Holden to come through with a thread compiling some of the best “fact-checks” of Trump’s vaccine prediction, and he came through, as always.
?Thread?
We were promised @realDonaldTrump was lying when he said there would be a coronavirus vaccine by the time the year was over.
Yesterday’s news makes me think it’s time for a trip down memory lane.? pic.twitter.com/gHFGHdwpmn
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
First we had the fact checks.
Back when Trump first floated (and then promised) a vaccine before the end of the year, there were many across the media.
The most well known was probably @NBCNews, who also doubled down on this one. pic.twitter.com/HDBtYKlAxR
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
A lot of people picked up and repeated @NBCNews’s fact check, including @GeoffRBennett and @kylegriffin1. pic.twitter.com/lzQa6nLBWc
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
They weren’t alone though. My personal favorite came from @NPR.
At some point I hope outlets realize that sometimes the leader of the free world – whoever that is – may have information they don’t. pic.twitter.com/C5eg5xrPIU
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
And of course @NPR’s most well-known reporter, @Yamiche, got involved, too, adding her “context” that always proves to just be commentary masquerading as reporting. pic.twitter.com/Uh0ubCrTS4
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
Yamiche Alcindor always adds “context” to her tweets.
We also had a fact check from @ABC.
I’m…beginning to think that perhaps we’ve lost our way with what does or doesn’t deserve a “fact check” here guys. pic.twitter.com/kPhb02OspK
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
And more of the same from @MSNBC. They are, as ever, all over this one.
They also brought in some online doctors, like @IrwinRedlenerMD and @DrRichBesser.
The word “fact check” really took a beating here. pic.twitter.com/lmNlFGIjFT
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
It also wasn’t just fact checks. We had other articles about why this wouldn’t be possible, including this one from @NYMag. pic.twitter.com/5bW4WnkDMA
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
And I’m just confused by this one from @CNN.
Of course @Acosta found a way to get involved here as well. pic.twitter.com/42Ug5h5slM
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
Special shout out to @NYGovCuomo. pic.twitter.com/kbLi0HnHAI
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
I suppose it could be an open question whether a dozen or so weeks constitutes “a few weeks away” but in the grand scheme of things it seems about right, @SenatorDurbin. pic.twitter.com/KrlIfJ6VZb
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
But the real stars on this one were the blue checks.
No one delivers on a four-boxer the way that @SethAbramson does. Just an all-star. My muse. I had to cut his down. pic.twitter.com/342s851yvN
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
“FACT: Trump lying about a COVID-19 vaccine ensures … more people will die than had to die. We *must* attach body-counts to the lies of this evil man.” We didn’t vote for Joe Biden, but we’ll be happy to see less TDS in our Twitter feeds.
Now part of the difficulty in this is sussing out what constitutes having a vaccine. I went easy on those who couched their claims appropriately based on availability, access, or otherwise.
But lots of folks, like @donwinslow – noted crazy person on the internet – simply didn’t. pic.twitter.com/TTG7FKHYeo
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
Where wrong goes, the NeverTrumpers are sure to follow.
Perhaps my favorite take of this whole saga comes from the incomparable @SteveSchmidtSES, a human goldmine for badness on this website. pic.twitter.com/NPXrQgJEKC
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
And he was joined by other NeverTrumpers, because God forbid we root for Trump to do something good, like help end a global pandemic.
Here’s @OliviaTroye, also promoted by @RVAT2020. pic.twitter.com/poWjUe1ffw
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
There were also a lot of takes like this one from @keithboykin suggesting that Trump would rush the vaccine for political gain, which obviously didn’t come to pass. pic.twitter.com/SY161Ic3sH
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
So many takes in fact that I made a whole thread about it back in November. https://t.co/BoWPtwUi3w
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
Congrats to whichever of the Brothers Krassenstein runs @HKrassenstein for their continued bad posting. pic.twitter.com/r2qYGEbtmo
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
@funder continues to be one of the most egregious bad faith actors on this website. This episode was like nearly other news cycle with this guy. pic.twitter.com/U8e3TspT8N
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
And we had the Twitter doctors, as always, weigh in. Here are @PeterHotez and @DrEricDing.
“Trust the experts” or something. pic.twitter.com/QjRqXVjCg9
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
Obviously this is good news – and may rightly be called a “miracle” – but it’s important to remember the idea that a vaccine was far off was a part of Biden’s campaign.
Would Americans have voted differently if they thought @realDonaldTrump was going to deliver on this promise? pic.twitter.com/EWgh6Gmonv
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
I don’t know the answer to that. But it’s worth reflecting on the ways that the American press described this process and, by extension, Trump.
And the role the media and the left played in sowing doubt at a critical moment.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
That’s one thing the media and Democrats just could not abide about Trump; not only was he a Washington outsider, but he was also an optimist.
At the end of the day, what we should be is grateful. Grateful for the researchers who worked tirelessly. Grateful for the American innovation that made it possible. Grateful for those who sacrificed to find the vaccine & keep us running as best as possible in the meantime.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
But in our appreciation, we need to remember that these narratives have downstream consequences, and a lot of people who very much didn’t want @realDonaldTrump to win the election created a narrative that undermined what would’ve been a HUGE campaign accomplishment.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 15, 2020
Okay, bonuses, because I couldn’t fit all of them.
Here’s noted liar to children @BillNye (h/t @tomselliott for this find) pic.twitter.com/wvlKvdtTZ2
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 16, 2020
This one aged poorly from @AsapSCIENCE, which, if I understand right, is just Bill Nye as a Twitter account. pic.twitter.com/lF5uZpk06v
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 16, 2020
This is the “we made that up” gif from @cmclymer. pic.twitter.com/MPytlVJM2Z
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 16, 2020
Obama: We’ll close GITMO by the end of the year. Eight years later …
And @PolitiFact has long ceased to be an organization that checks facts but it is still pretty jarring to see it in action. pic.twitter.com/22XHiBFGNp
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 16, 2020
Sometimes I wonder if people just say things on TV because they think they’ll disappear?
If so, let this be a PSA for @11thHour and @IrwinRedlenerMD (repeat appearance!) that isn’t so. pic.twitter.com/SIDkM9uzQs
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 16, 2020
Also, for those who always accuse me of being a lackey, let’s be clear: Trump didn’t do himself any favors here. He said there would be a vaccine before Election Day and all kinds of other BS that didn’t materialize.
That doesn’t excuse “fact checking” that isn’t from the media.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 16, 2020
I look at blue checks & think: all I want is a third of the self-esteem/self-aggrandizement & delusion it requires to speak w/ absolute conviction about things I don’t know anything about to thousands of people in a highly searchable archive.
Perhaps I’d be more content in life
— FrankLeeGivadam (@The2ishPercent) December 16, 2020
Well said.
Related:
BRUTAL –> Glenn Greenwald NUKES mainstream media in receipt-filled thread for spreading vaccine disinformation to fuel Trump-HATE https://t.co/XHYF6MCIl1
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) December 15, 2020