In Swipe At Trump Impeachment, Biden Assures Vaccine Donations Won’t Include Pressure for Favors or Potential Concessions
President's reassurances a clear echo from the political favors from his predecessor that led to Trump's first impeachment
As he stood on foreign soil to tout his administration's announcement of donations of COVID-19 vaccines for lower-income nations across the globe, President Biden had another unmistakable message to deliver: The days of the United States swapping foreign aid in exchange for political favors are over.
For Biden, it was an unmistakable swipe at his predecessor and the scandal — which featured Biden and his son, Hunter, right in the middle of it — which formed the basis of Donald Trump's first impeachment in late 2019.
The scandal in question involved Trump trying to hold up $400 million in aid to Ukraine while Trump and his allies attempted to pressure Ukraine's president to dig political dirt on the Bidens for the 2020 presidential election that was then still to come.
The result was that Trump was impeached by the House late in 2019 before being acquitted by Senate Republicans a couple of months later.
Biden — clearly proud of Thursday's decision for the United States to donate half a billion Pfizer vaccines to 92 low- and lower middle-income countries and the African Union — wants to avoid the sort taint for his initiative that Trump brought on himself.
“Under my direction, the United States will purchase an additional half billion doses from Pfizer, Pfizer vaccine, that will donate to nearly 100 low and lower middle income countries. They will be the beneficiaries. Let me say that again: United States will purchase half a billion doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to donate to nearly 100 nations that are in dire need in the fight against this pandemic. That’s a historic step,” Biden said. “The largest single purchase and donation of COVID-19 vaccines by any single country ever. Importantly, this is the mRNA vaccine, which is proven to be extremely effective against COVID-19 and every known variant of that virus thus far. These half a billion vaccines will start to be shipped in August, as quickly as they roll off the manufacturing line. 200 million of these doses will be delivered this year, 2021; and 300 million more will be delivered in the first half of 2022.
"Let me be clear, just as with the 80 million doses we previously announced, the United States is providing these half million doses with no strings attached. Let me say it again: With no strings attached. Our vaccine donations don’t include pressure for favors or potential concessions. We’re doing this to save lives, to end this pandemic. That’s it. Period.”