Trump Calls Gov. DeSantis ‘Gutless’ Over Refusal Say Whether He Got Covid-19 Booster

Donald Trump seemed to take a jab at Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Florida) after he gave an interview and dodged questions about whether or not he had been administered the Covid-19 booster shot.

When asked directly, DeSantis reiterated that he had had the original shot and that he did not believe in vaccination mandates, and felt that booster shots should be a personal decision. His team later said that DeSantis’ booster status is private medical information.

“I watched a couple of politicians be interviewed and one of the questions was, ‘Did you get a booster?’ Because they had the vaccine and they’re answering like – in other words, the answer is ‘yes’ but they don’t want to say it, because they’re gutless,” Trump told One America News.

“You gotta say it,” he added. “Whether you had it or not, say it.”

DeSantis was an outspoken supporter of the Covid vaccine, but as conservatives have grown warier of vaccine mandates as it has grown to encompass the younger population, he stopped encouraging people to get it publicly.

People close to Trump know that the former president has become frustrated with DeSantis as the governor has signaled a possible run for the Republican presidential nomination. Trump has both considered making DeSantis his running mate and said he would beat him if they ran against each other in the Republican primary.

Christina Pushaw, a DeSantis spokeswoman, says that the public shouldn’t read too far into Trump’s comments.

“President Trump did not mention Governor DeSantis in that interview, so I wouldn’t want to make assumptions. Gov. DeSantis has always been clear about his position on Covid-19 vaccination and boosters: the shots should be available to all but mandated for none, and the choice to get a vaccine or booster is an individual’s private medical decision,” Pushaw said

Publicly, DeSantis says he is focused on winning his second term as governor in November.