Trump reportedly told donors he hopes his supporters will get vaccinated: ‘We need our people’

• Donald Trump recently told donors he hopes his supporters will get vaccinated, The New York Times reported.
• “We need our people,” he said at the event, according to two attendees.
• Earlier this month, Trump was booed by some of his own supporters after urging them to get vaccinated.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Former President Donald Trump recently told donors at a New York Republican Party fundraiser that he hopes his supporters will get vaccinated, according to The New York Times.

“We need our people,” he said at the event, according to two attendees.

The former president’s comments come as the US battles a new wave of coronavirus cases spurred by the highly transmissible delta variant. Health officials have characterized the current surge as a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” as inoculation rates in the country have stalled.

But even as hospitals hit capacity and deaths begin to rise, a subset of the population is vehemently rebuking proven COVID-19 mitigation methods like masks and vaccines in the name of personal freedom – including conservative radio hosts who have since died due to COVID-19.

Trump, as the right’s chosen chief, holds powerful sway over his followers. In May 2020, the then-president sparked a run on hydroxychloroquine, an obscure antimalarial drug, after he baselessly touted it as a potential miracle cure for COVID-19.

But the former leader has been less eager to promote the COVID-19 vaccines – in part, out of fear that doing so would boost President Joe Biden’s standing.

Earlier this month, The Daily Beast reported that Trump was ignoring allies’ efforts to convince him to run a pro-vaccination campaign, partly because he wanted to avoid doing Biden “any favors.”

The former president, however, has tested out vaccine support among his own supporters in recent weeks and was met with rare blowback.

At an August rally in Alabama, Trump was booed by some of his own supporters after he urged people to get vaccinated.

“Take the vaccines,” he said. “I did it. It’s good.”

As some in the crowd began to jeer, Trump seemed to backtrack slightly, telling the crowd he “believes totally” in their freedoms.

“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” he said. “But I recommend that you take the vaccines.”

But despite his moments spouting vaccine approval, the possible 2024 presidential candidate continues to cater to his base when it comes to fundraising.

A recent fundraising text read: “FREEDOM PASSPORTS > VACCINE PASSPORTS,” according to The Times.

The text was promoting $45 American flag shirts that boast, “This is my freedom passport.”

A representative for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Meanwhile, several Trump allies and GOP leaders, such as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, are pushing forward with bans on vaccine and mask mandates, marketing their fierce opposition to lockdowns and mitigation measures as political currency among their supporters.

The GOP leaders’ fight for personal and medical freedom comes even as their states grapple with some of the most serious COVID-19 outbreaks to date.