Former President Donald Trump received boos from a crowd of his supporters at a "Save America" rally in Cullman, Alabama Saturday night after he encouraged them to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and lauded the effectiveness of the jabs.
"I believe totally in your freedoms, I do, you've got to do what you've got to do," Trump said. "But I recommend that you take the vaccines. I did it, it's good."
This recommendation by the former president prompted boos from the Alabama crowd.
Trump went on to say that "you've got your freedoms but I happened to take the vaccine."
Trump advises his audience in Alabama to take the Covid vaccine pic.twitter.com/aaxQfnnxoh
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 22, 2021
He then joked that the Alabama crowd would be the "first to know" if his coronavirus vaccines failed to work.
Trump, who got vaccinated at the White House back in January 2021, has previously said that vaccines were "saving the world" but, just like he mentioned at the Alabama, insisted that Americans be allowed to express their freedoms by opting out of getting their shots.
In Alabama, only 36 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus while 47 percent have received at least one dose of the vaccine, making the state among the least vaccinated in the country.
Trump's speech comes after the Daily Beast reported that allies of the former president advised him to run a campaign that centered on encouraging coronavirus vaccinations. He was initially reluctant to launch such a campaign over fears that promoting vaccines would tarnish his base and help President Joe Biden.