Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., took heat from Republicans at a Dorchester County GOP fundraiser over the weekend, drawing fierce outcry when he suggested they 'ought to think' about getting the Covid-19 vaccine.
'How many of you took the vaccine?' the senator asked, as various hands raised throughout the crowd.
'How many of you will take the booster?' he asked, drawing audible 'No's' from the crowd. Hardly any hands went up, other than Graham's.
'Bottom line is I took the vaccine and I had it [Covid-19], it kicks your butt,' Graham continued, 'If you haven't had the vaccine you ought to think about getting it.' 'No's' rising up from the crowd got louder.
'I didn't tell you to do it, but you ought to think about it,' the senator added, to more push back.
'Ninety-two percent of the people in hospitals in South Carolina are unvaccinated,' he said. 'Oh my god! Lies!' can be heard from the crowd.
'I'm with you on like, don't mandate it, I'm with you that's probably unconstitutional,' Graham said.
One person in the crowd angrily shouted that he was going to lose his job with the US Navy in 60 days. The deadline for members of the Navy to get their jab is Nov. 22.
'How many of you have taken measles shots? Not just in the military,' he asked the crowd, as many shouted back 'That's not the same!'
Graham posted a photo of himself getting the Covid-19 jab in December
'Ninety-two percent of the people in hospitals in South Carolina are unvaccinated,' Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said. 'Oh my god! Lies!' can be heard from the crowd
The military requires as many as 17 vaccines, including measles.
Graham then retreated: 'In the military, they can say you got to get vaccinated. I think that's a dumb idea. You know why? We shouldn't be driving people away from serving.'
'If you're a healthcare worker and you don't want to get vaccinated, why do you want to get people to quit being nurses?' he added.
The fully-vaccinated senator tested positive for Covid-19 in early August, and still he said Covid-19 had him 'flat on his back.'
'I'm convinced if I did not have the vaccine the outcome would have been a lot worse,' Graham said on Aug. 24.
'I was pretty much flat on my back, but I'm up and moving around now because I think the vaccine lessens the blow. And if you haven't been vaccinated yet, please do.'
In Graham's South Carolina, 56% of residents of all ages have had at least one Covid-19 vaccine, lower than the 65% of Americans overall.
Despite leaders in the party pushing vaccination, a subsection of Republicans remain obstinate. Former President Trump and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson have both recently been heckled for suggesting their supporters get vaccinated.
'You know what? I believe totally in your freedom, I do. You got to do what you have to do,' Trump said at an August rally in Alabama. 'But I recommend: Take the vaccines. I did it. It's good. Take the vaccines.'
The crowd started to boo. 'That's OK. That's alright. You got your freedoms, but I happen to take the vaccine,' he said.
Hutchinson, meanwhile, was booed in July for suggesting the vaccine does not affect fertility.
Post a Comment