But the race to develop a vaccine also became intensely politicized by the president, with trust in a prospective vaccine plummeting apparently as a result. Trump recognized early that the pandemic would only truly come to an end when a vaccine became widely available — and then became fixated on delivering one before the Nov. 3 presidential election to convince voters he had the virus under control.
That calculation led the president and top aides — especially Chief of Staff Mark Meadows — to apply unrelenting
pressure on the FDA to clear a vaccine before the election. Even after Trump lost his bid, that campaign continued, culminating in an extraordinary threat on Friday, when Meadows ordered FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn to submit his resignation if the agency did not clear Pfizer’s vaccine by day’s end. The agency pushed its timetable from Saturday morning to late Friday — a change that had no effect on the distribution plans that were set to begin Sunday.
Earlier that same day, Trump had tweeted that the FDA was “a big, old, slow turtle” and badgered Hahn. “Get the dam vaccines out NOW, Dr. Hahn @SteveFDA. Stop playing games and start saving lives!!!”