Former President Donald Trump's comments surrounding potential treatments for COVID-19 during his tenure came under scrutiny and have been brought up again by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
The trip down memory lane from the early days of the pandemic began when Pete Doocy, a reporter from Fox News, questioned Psaki during a White House briefing on Wednesday (11 August).
Doocy asked whether Biden might have caused vaccine hesitancy in the past when, during Trump's tenure, he said: "I trust vaccines, I trust scientists, but I don't trust Donald Trump, and at this moment, the American people can't either."
Psaki shut down Doocy’s argument by stating the White House hadn’t seen any data supporting the idea that Biden’s remarks about Trump increased vaccine hesitancy in the American population.
During a back-and-forth, Psaki went on to add: "I would note that at the time, just for context, the former president was also suggesting people inject versions of poison into their veins to cure COVID. So I think that's a relevant point."
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For four years the White House must have felt like home turf for Fox News. President Donald Trump was a regular interviewee on the network while describing other media as the enemy of the people. His press secretaries Sean Spicer, Sarah Sanders and Kayleigh McEnany duly took a combative approach to the briefing room, tossing out verbal grenades that usually failed to explode.
Now the shoe is on the other foot and Fox News finds itself as a leading voice of dissent at the daily press briefing, asking some of the bluntest questions as it tries to pick holes in the Biden administration.