Updated Mar 1, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Trump received COVID vaccine at White House in January

Trump and Melania

Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images

Former President Trump and former first lady Melania Trump were both vaccinated at the White House in January, a Trump adviser tells Axios.

Why it matters: Trump declared at CPAC on Sunday that "everybody" should get the coronavirus vaccine — the first time he's encouraged his supporters, who have been more skeptical of getting vaccinated, to do so.

  • It's unclear which vaccine they received.
  • Vaccine hesitancy is higher among white Republicans than any other demographic group, and it hasn't been improving as the vaccination effort continues, according to Civiqs polling.
  • The news of the Trumps getting vaccinated was first reported by the New York Times.

What he's saying: "We took care of a lot of people — including, I guess, on Dec. 21, we took care of Joe Biden, because he got his shot, he got his vaccine," Trump said at CPAC on Sunday. "So everybody, go get your shot."

Flashback: In December, former Surgeon General Jerome Adams defended Trump for waiting to get vaccinated after the rollout of the Pfizer vaccine, saying the former president had a "medical reason" for not doing so.

  • Adams cited an experimental antibody treatment Trump had been given after contracting the virus in October.
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