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Donald Trump thinks the coronavirus vaccine should be called ‘Trumpcine’

Former president also tore into Dr Anthony Fauci: ‘Have you ever seen anybody that is so full of crap?’

Gino Spocchia
Sunday 11 April 2021 15:57 BST
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Coronavirus: Trump takes vaccine victory lap
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Donald Trump credited himself for the development of several coronavirus vaccines, and said they should instead be called the “Trumpcine”.

The former US president was delivering an address in front of the Republican party’s biggest sponsors on Saturday at Mar-a-Lago, when the remarks about the vaccine were made.

Mr Trump told the crowd that an individual, who he called “sir”, came to him and said the vaccine should be called the “Trumpcine”, The Washington Post and CNN reported.

The former president cited Operation Warp Speed, the US government initiative to fast-track the development of Covid vaccines, as a factor.

Only one of the vaccines currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), made by Moderna, received full funding from Operation Warp Speed.

Pfizer, another maker of a Covid vaccine, received funding from the US government following the development of its vaccine, according to a report by STAT.

Mr Trump on Saturday also went on to attack Dr Anthony Fauci for advising against masks at the beginning of the pandemic, before recommending “five” masks in recent months.

"Have you ever seen anybody that is so full of crap?,” Mr Trump said of the chief medical adviser and infectious diseases expert, according to the Post.

It followed recent remarks by Dr Fauci, who said that wearing a number of face masks was more effective for stopping the spread of Covid, following a study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

It was not the first time Mr Trump has offered criticism of Dr Fauci, who often diverged from the former president on Covid. Nor was it the first time Mr Trump has tried to take credit for the development of vaccines.

The Mar-a-Lago address was part of a weekend of fundraising for the Republican National Committee (RNC), with Mr Trump hosting hundreds of donors at the resort.

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