Pence breaks silence to take credit for Pfizer vaccine - and drugs company immediately denies Trump

[UpInArms]

Source: Independent UK

Mike Pence has broken his post-election silence to trumpet the Trump administration’s backing of a new coronavirus vaccine - only for the company to immediately point out that their vaccine had nothing to do with the government.

Pfizer announced on Monday morning that their Covid-19 vaccine was 90 per cent effective, in early trials.

"HUGE NEWS: Thanks to the public-private partnership forged by President @realDonaldTrump, @pfizer announced its Coronavirus Vaccine trial is EFFECTIVE, preventing infection in 90% of its volunteers," tweeted Mr Pence.

Nikki Haley, Mr Trump’s former UN ambassador, also claimed that the Pfizer work was down to Mr Trump, saying: “Many thanks”.

Seemingly unaware that Pfizer had very publicly rejected federal funds, she said: "This will be one of the most important action items done by the administration in response to this pandemic."

... snip ...

Dr Kathrin Jansen, Pfizer’s head of vaccine development, told the New York Times: “We were never part of the Warp Speed ... We have never taken any money from the U.S. government, or from anyone.”

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election-2020/mike-pence-covid-vaacine-pfizer-b1719698.html

---

Full title:

Pence breaks silence to take credit for Pfizer vaccine - and drugs company immediately denies Trump involved

[Newest Reality]

1. Taking credit for things you didn't do is on brand.

[yaesu]

30. Didn't the GOP's Project Warped Mind lead to tRump getting elected in '16?

[SheltieLover]

2. Good for Pfizer!

[thesquanderer]

15. I suspect Pfizer also wants to make clear that they took no government money...

...to avoid calls for the vaccine to be less expensive due to its development having been subsidized by public money.

[SheltieLover]

16. Also to avert avoidance!

[localroger]

36. Yes, don't forget this is the company that invented Viagra

...which they priced not according to its production and development cost, but because a herd of actuaries determined that the market would support a price of $25 per boner. This puts them in an excellent position to make us choose between our money and our lives.

[DENVERPOPS]

47. Dead on Point!!!!!!!!NC

[Iliyah]

3. Pence is a man of GOD . ..

and yet he lies so often.

[christx30]

35. He pretends to be,

because it gets evangelicals to open their wallets and go to the voting booths for Republicans. But there is no God in him, or his ilk. It’s a means to power. Nothing more.

[Paper Roses]

46. This was my first thought. n/t

[Botany]

4. Did Pence say this after the Dr. Jansen's saying that Pfizer had nothing to do with the government?

Link to tweet

[mr_lebowski]

14. Didn't that turn out to be shopped? I forget now (nt)

[reACTIONary]

25. No, it was not. It really happened. This picture is on..

... some of the bulletin boards at Godard Space Flight Center.

[underpants]

18. I love that pic. Sums him up completely

I was just about to go looking for it.

[subterranean]

52. In his defense, "Do Not Touch" was in quotation marks.

So maybe he thought it wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

The other explanation is he was just being an asshole.

[CatMor]

5. I see Nikki Haley is kissing trumps ample behind ..

I guess she's not too smart.

[johnnyfins]

42. Remember, she was in his administration. He must have something on her, too.

Something she was forced into doing...whatever. Trash.

[CatMor]

44. She may think she needs his backing for her 2024 presidential run.

[DENVERPOPS]

48. ALL of the Republican women in this administration

are a "special breed". If I say anything more about all of them, I will get spanked by DU........

[livetohike]

6. Nikki Haley is on the list of "people I would like to

see disappear”. She isn’t in any political office. Why do people care what she says?

[BusyBeingBest]

21. I don't know why they're quoting her here. She has nothing to do with anything.

They might as well quote Sarah Palin or Oprah or Miley Cyrus.

[pandr32]

24. She was probably promised an ass-kissing position

[JohnnyRingo]

7. Battle amongst the greedy.

Pfizer is not about to be saddled by government obligations when it comes to making an obscene profit on this vaccine. Trump taking a victory lap is typical. By the end of the week he'll say Eric was working in the lab.

[Blue Owl]

8. There's a fly in the ointment this morning for Mikey

Womp womp...

[Talitha]

31. It fell off of his hair, most likely....

[area51]

9. Haley keeps popping up like a bad penny;

she's probably positioning for the 2024 race.

[2naSalit]

19. She has yet to realize that the blood stains all of them...

Anyone who was among the crowd of thieves and murderers in this admin. she was part of. Wretched excuse for a human that she is.

[Lonestarblue]

28. That 2024 race will be interesting.

Ivanka will be pushing Don Jr. in front of a bus so she can run, and vice versa. If Trump hasn’t been indicted or isn’t in full-flown dementia by then, he will shove both of them under a bus so he can run again. Tom Cotton, who believes the military should attack civilians to prevent peaceful protests, will throw his hat in the ring. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio will be back. Nikki Haley will join the list. Governor Hogan of Maryland will likely run and will come across as the only sane person in the running.

I doubt that Chris Christie will be back, but Jeb Bush might.

Who are the Republican clowns I’ve left out? This could be a bigger circus than 2016!

[NYC Liberal]

43. Some other possible clowns:

Pence
Pompeo
Liz Cheney
Rick Scott

[DENVERPOPS]

49. Keep the list going

the possibilities are endless.........

There is no limit to the RepubliCON ego maniacal individuals and the self aggrandizing they regurgitate to the world......

[JudyM]

10. Here's hoping Pfizer makes that point loudly and repeatedly enough to steal trump's false thunder.

[Talitha]

32. THIS

[NCjack]

11. Mr. Pence deserves what ever credit is be given to the Administration.

Mr. Tramp accepted Mr. Atlas' herd-kill-off-of-the-old/weak plan. Mr. Pence needs to be more forceful in taking credit -- tell Mr. Tramp to ...

[yaesu]

12. If pence did have anything to do with it no way would I take it, definitely wil not until after

Biden is sworn in.

[matt819]

13. Assholes to the very end.

I'm sure this buffoon will get his RW sinecures, but I sure would love to see him so shamed that he's back on AM talk radio in Indiana.

[underpants]

17. House plant says what?

[reACTIONary]

27. It's not what it says...

... but the fact that it can speak at all that is notable.

[KS Toronado]

20. I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.......VP Pence spreading fake news?

Where did he learn about fake news?

[bronxiteforever]

22. Nikki Haley is a liar and that is why she served Trump.

Birds of a feather...

[brooklynite]

23. Maybe the theory is: by ignoring COVID they've allowed Pfizer to work without interference?

[nuxvomica]

26. The corrupt are both deceitful and incompetent

Everything they do is a noxious slurry of both. Don't assume just one or the other.

[infullview]

29. Shows how out of touch Pence is that he probably thought they had something to do

with Pfizer's success. in line with their motto "I'll tell you anything you want to hear"

[Solly Mack]

33. Heh

But the Trumpers won't hear the actual facts. Only the lie.

[BobTheSubgenius]

34. The WH broke with its policy of steadfast humility and take credit for something they didn't do?

Say it's not so!!! It's even possible that they knew what they were saying was not exactly wedded to the facts and might have been a trifle dishonest? Now you're going too far.

[bullwinkle428]

37. The irony. Repukes try to brag about how great socialism is, and the private

company steps up and says "There was no government money involved!"

[dhill926]

38. damn good thing repubs are incompetent...

it would be funny if it wasn't scary right now...

[krkaufman]

39. Alternative facts...

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) suggests that Pfizer benefited from federal $$ in a series of tweets, even if not directly for R&D on the vaccine, including...

Link to tweet

[DENVERPOPS]

51. Good call Senator Murphy

The only group I trust less than Trump and Pence, are the pharmaceutical companies...........

[crickets]

53. And there is the proper pushback - Pfizer wasn't part of Warp Speed, but

they certainly did receive a promise for a huge pile of the taxpayers' money. That should be remembered before they set any kind of price tag for the vaccine.

[Sapient Donkey]

40. I heard some Trump fans call it "Trump's Vaccine"

I didn't feel like saying anything at the time, but I'm certain I made a weird face. I just don't understand the mindset of these people. I couldn't imagine calling anything like this "Obama's/Clinton's/Binden's/etc vaccine". Trump has seriously damaged the thought processes of so many people.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

55. Had to already be damaged to believe anything Trump said from the start.

But yeah--Trump-inflicted brain damage on top of whatever the heck was wrong with them before. Now they're in his cult. Brainwashed beyond repair. Such a large cult in the country is very dangerous to democracy

[TryLogic]

41. I wish there was something we could do about the god damned liars.

I'm sure the purpose of the First Amendment was not to protect liars !!!!

[DENVERPOPS]

50. Hey TL

wouldn't it be great if all politicians had to wear a device, that if they told a lie, they just exploded on the spot?

[AngryOldDem]

45. Some fucking nerve.

That’s like taking credit for putting out a five-alarm fire because you turned on your garden hose.

This administration is solely to blame for this plague.

[BigmanPigman]

54. Nikki Haley is a hack.