All former US presidents bar Trump urge vaccinations in new ad series

• Presidents Obama, Bush, Clinton, and Carter appeared in a vaccine PSA released early Thursday.
• Trump didn’t take part in the campaign, though it’s not clear if he was asked.
• He also issued a statement saying “I hope everyone remembers” the vaccine wouldn’t exist without him.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Every living former US president has appeared in an ad campaign telling Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19, apart from Donald Trump, who has instead released a statement demanding credit for the vaccine.

On Thursday, the nonprofit Ad Council released a public service advertisement starring Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter.

“This vaccine means hope,” Obama said in the video. “It will protect you and those you love from this dangerous and deadly disease.”

Trump was noticeably absent, though it’s not clear if he was asked to join the campaign.

Hours before the campaign went live, however, Trump’s personal office in Florida released a statement in which he claimed responsibility for the vaccines’ existence.

“I hope everyone remembers when they’re getting the COVID-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) vaccine, that if I wasn’t president, you wouldn’t be getting that beautiful ‘shot’ for 5 years, at best, and probably wouldn’t be getting it at all. I hope everyone remembers!” he said, using a derogatory term for the novel coronavirus, which was first found in China.

—Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) March 10, 2021

When asked by Insider whether it had asked Trump to join the PSA, an Ad Council said the project with the former presidents started last December. The spokesperson did not say whether the Ad Council had approached Trump, who at the time was an outgoing president.

The spokesperson added that some of the ads were shot at President Joe Biden’s January 20 inauguration, which Trump did not attend, having flown to his resort in Palm Beach that morning.

Trump said last year he would get the vaccine, but did not say when, and did not say whether he would follow the likes of Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence and get his shot live on TV.

However, it was reported earlier this month that Trump and first lady Melania Trump quietly got the vaccine in the White House in January.