DONALD Trump is “pushing hard” for a green light on the “miracle” Covid vaccine and said he hopes he will stay in power.
“We are very hopeful that the FDA will approve the Pfizer vaccine within days,” the president said.
He emphasized that the approval is upcoming as he has been “pushing them hard.”
Trump said that if the vaccine is approved, “tens of millions” will be available to Americans this month.
He added that the plan that he put forward will prioritize the elderly, those with underlying conditions and healthcare workers.
“People who like or don’t like Trump are saying this is one of the greatest miracles in the history of modern-day medicine,” the president said.
The president made the comments at an Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Summit press briefing at the White House on Tuesday, where reporters were updated on the coronavirus situation.
Everyone in the crowd appeared to be wearing masks as Trump thanked key players in Operation Warp Speed for their help.
As the meeting came to a close the president signed an executive order to ensure that distributing the vaccine to other countries is a lower priority than getting Americans inoculated.
Trump said the legislature will “ensure that American citizens have first priority to receive American vaccines.”
The update came as CNN reported that the amount of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country tipped 15million.
As reporters were asked for questions focus shifted slightly from the vaccine, leaning towards a transition of power.
One journalist asked the president why he did not include members of President-elect Joe Biden’s team in the discussions.
“Well we’re gonna have to see who the next administration is, because we won in the swing states,” Trump said.
“Whichever the next administration is will really benefit by what we’ve been able to do about this.
“Hopefully the next administration will be the Trump administration because you can’t steal hundreds of thousands of votes.”
Commenting on CDC guidelines advising against traveling for the holidays, one reporter asked Trump why he has been holding “parties” during the pandemic.
“Well, they’re Christmas parties,” Trump said.
He also insisted that the guest list was cut down and that partygoers were wearing masks.
However, it was reported just hours before that Trump’s lawyer, Jenna Ellis, has Covid after attending a senior staff Christmas party on Friday.
Ellis informed her associates on Tuesday that she tested positive for the deadly disease, sources told Axios.
Ellis attended the event as a guest of adviser Peter Navarro and was not wearing a mask, sources told the outlet.
“People brought their families,” one senior White House official told Axios.
The event was held indoors in the building’s East Wing.
Ellis’s apparent diagnosis comes just days after fellow Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani tested positive.
