For months, right-wing media outlets have promoted unfounded skepticism and hysteria against vaccines, which have proven effective in slowing the spread of the virus that's killed over 600 thousand Americans.
Newsmax host Rob Schmidt recently suggested that vaccines go "against nature." Fox News host Tucker Carlson falsely speculated that the vaccines don't work and that the government is keeping that a secret.
Far-right Fox host Laura Ingraham has run dozens of segments claiming the vaccines are an effort by the government to control its citizens, and that efforts to convince Americans to take the vaccines—including a door-to-door initiative to increase public awareness of where and how to get a vaccine—are a federal overstep.
This is all occurring as stronger, deadlier variants of the virus continue to emerge.
But Republican media personalities—including Ingraham—heaped praise upon former President Donald Trump for his Operation Warp Speed initiative as the first doses of vaccines were being administered.
Fox News contributor Jonah Goldberg—in an op-ed for the LA Times—is calling Ingraham and others out for this hypocrisy.
He writes:
"When Donald Trump was president, Operation Warp Speed was an own-the-libs triumph ... now [Ingraham] and many other right-wing media figures are engaged in fearmongering over the alleged dangers of vaccines we wouldn't have, were it not for Trump."
Goldberg specifically mentioned the time Ingraham said:
"[T]he stunning success of President Trump's Operation Warp Speed caught team apocalypse totally off guard. Don't you love it?"
People largely agreed.
@RpsAgainstTrump Goldberg describes the right voters as “primed to be outraged” and that’s the most precisely accur… https://t.co/dgc9cPJe64— mean spaghetti (@mean spaghetti) 1626186530.0
BTW, the anti-anti-Trumpers who are having a meltdown over this know Jonah's absolutely right. https://t.co/pzI2fLtoOU— John A. Daly (@John A. Daly) 1626247681.0
@HuffPost I would bet $1,000 she is vaccinated. All of these opinion pundits are vaccinated. They are playing GOP s… https://t.co/UK6KlVODI5— 𝕄𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕪𝔾𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕕 (@𝕄𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕪𝔾𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕕) 1626258435.0
Meanwhile, Ingraham's repeated disinformation regarding vaccines continues to prompt criticism.
Laura Ingraham: "I think if she could, she would put the unvaccinated Americans in camps!" OK, can we PLEASE stop… https://t.co/yKyHCy9Lz6— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1625797573.0
Durbin reads @tiffkhsu article on Fox News & vaccine. Durbin adds: "There are 2 hosts of programs on Fox primetime… https://t.co/gfoyhuSavk— Howard Mortman (@Howard Mortman) 1626127273.0
The two biggest anti-vaccine propagandists - Fox News' Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham will not say whether they… https://t.co/ALBg3AHhQM— Chris Rilling🌊🌊🌊🌊🌍 (@Chris Rilling🌊🌊🌊🌊🌍) 1626103244.0
Laura Ingraham has been vaccinated and should be sued in a class-action suit by the families of old people who watc… https://t.co/kXIlLMYSkp— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@Mrs. Betty Bowers) 1626232598.0
Tucker Carlson & Laura Ingraham have not revealed if they got the COVID vaccine. Think about that. If they weren… https://t.co/EKjdojokQn— 11fthb (@11fthb) 1626133414.0
Does she own a chain of funeral parlors, or what??? https://t.co/L6FALEmg3e— Shai Franklin (@Shai Franklin) 1626233930.0
Ingraham has yet to respond to Goldberg.