Trump reveals he got COVID-19 booster shot; crowd boos him

Former U.S. President Donald Trump revealed he received a booster shot of
the COVID-19 vaccine, drawing boos from a crowd in Dallas.

Trump made the disclosure Sunday night during the final stop of "The
History Tour," a live interview show he has been doing with former Fox News
host Bill O'Reilly.

"Both the president and I are vaxxed," O'Reilly said at the American
Airlines Center, drawing some jeers from the audience, according to video
shared online by O'Reilly's "No Spin News."

"Did you get the booster?" he asked the former president. "Yes," Trump
responded. "I got it, too," O'Reilly said, eliciting more hectoring.

"Don't! Don't! Don't! Don't! Don't!" Trump told the crowd, waving off their
reaction with his hand.

While Trump has expressed opposition to vaccine mandates, he has long taken
credit for the vaccines developed on his watch. At the same time, he has
refused to urge his supporters to take them, even though Republicans remain
far less likely than Democrats to be protected.

For instance, while other world leaders, including former Vice President
Mike Pence, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, received
their doses publicly to promote the lifesaving medicine, Trump chose to
receive his in private -- an acknowledgement of the unpopularity of the
vaccine with large swaths of his base. And while he has blamed the Biden
administration for high levels of vaccine skepticism, he repeatedly
undermined public health recommendations while in office, encouraging the
use of unproven treatments and playing down the threat the virus posed as
he tried to prioritize economic recovery and secure a second term.

Trump had told the Wall Street Journal in a September interview that he
"probably" wouldn't get a booster shot.

"I feel like I'm in good shape from that standpoint," he told the paper.
"I'll look at stuff later on. I'm not against it, but it's probably not for
me."

The U.S. has been urging all eligible Americans to get booster shots as
quickly as possible as the country faces a surge in the new, highly
contagious omicron variant. Both Moderna and Pfizer have said that booster
shots of their COVID-19 vaccines appear to offer protection against the new
strain, which preliminary evidence suggests can better evade vaccines than
previous versions.

Trump was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October 2020, weeks before the
presidential election, and received experimental monoclonal antibodies
treatment. His former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, revealed in a book
released this month that Trump was far sicker than the White House
disclosed at the time.

Before the booing, Trump on Sunday told the audience that they should "take
credit" for the success of the vaccines developed while he was in office.

"Look, we did something that was historic. We saved tens of millions of
lives worldwide. We together, all of us -- not me, we -- we got a vaccine
done, three vaccines done, and tremendous therapeutics" Trump said. "This
was going to ravage the country far beyond what it is right now. Take
credit for it. Take credit for it.... Don't let them take it away. Don't
take it away from ourselves."

"You're playing right into their hands when you sort of like, `Oh the
vaccine,"' he added. "If you don't want to take it, you shouldn't be forced
to take it. No mandates," he said, drawing cheers. "But take credit because
we saved tens of millions of lives. Take credit. Don't let them take that
away from you."

Trump aides did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.