President Trump declared Wednesday that the White House may not approve tougher FDA standards for the emergency use authorization for any upcoming coronavirus vaccine, Politico reports.
"I have tremendous trust in these massive companies that are so brilliantly organized in terms of what they've been doing w/the tests. I mean, I don't know that a government as big as we are could do tests like this"- Trump downplays govt's role in approving a coronavirus vaccine pic.twitter.com/If07IAsRGX
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 23, 2020
In his afternoon press briefing, Trump was asked about the tougher standards suggested by the FDA to reassure a skeptical public, which must be approved by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
“That has to be approved by the White House,” Trump said. “We may or may not approve it.” He insinuated that the FDA was part of his fantastical Deep State by claiming the increased scrutiny for the vaccine “was a political move more than anything else.”
Trump claimed that the companies testing various vaccine formulas are more trustworthy for verifying the safety any formula.
“I have tremendous trust in these massive companies that are so brilliantly organized in terms of what they’ve been doing with the tests,” he said. “I don’t see any reason why [a vaccine] should be delayed further because if they delay it a week or two weeks or three weeks, you know, that’s a lot of lives you’re talking about.”