Kamala Harris Says 'I Would Not Trust Donald Trump' with Coronavirus Vaccine as Death Toll Rises
Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock; Andrew Harnik/AP/Shutterstock From left: Sen. Kamala Harris and President Donald Trump
Sen. Kamala Harris is criticizing Donald Trump for his incessant push to have a coronavirus vaccine before Election Day.
In an interview with CNN, which will air in full on Sunday, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, 55, said she "would not trust Donald Trump" on the reliability of a COVID-19 vaccine.
"I think it's going to be an issue for all of us," she explained. "I will say that I would not trust Donald Trump... I will not take his word for it."
Harris added that she would trust a "credible source of information that talks about the efficacy and the reliability of whatever [Trump] is talking about."
RELATED: Kamala Harris Calls Out 'Dirty Tactics' After Trump Promotes False Claim She Doesn't Qualify for VP
BASH: "Let’s just say there’s a vaccine that is approved and even distributed before the election. Would you get it?"
HARRIS: "Well, I think that’s going to be an issue for all of us. I will say that I would not trust Donald Trump... I will not take his word for it." #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/jhxtdvaMF1— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) September 5, 2020
The California senator expressed concern, however, that these credible sources may not get the last word about a vaccine.
"If past is prologue... they'll be muzzled. They'll be suppressed,” Harris said of health experts. "They will be sidelined because he’s looking at an election coming up in less than 60 days, and he's grasping for whatever he can get to pretend that he has been a leader on this issue when he has not.”
Her remarks come days after Trump, 74, assured Americans "we remain on track to deliver a vaccine before the end of the year and maybe even before Nov. 1."
Alex Wong/Getty Images Donald Trump speaking during a press briefing at the White House on July 28, 2020
"We think we can probably have it sometime during the month of October," the president said during a press briefing on Friday.
However, Moncef Slaoui — who runs the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed, a research program aimed to deliver a vaccine by the end of the year — mainly refuted Trump's claim one day prior.
"There is a very, very low chance that the trials that are running as we speak could read before the end of October,” Slaoui told NPR. "I think it's extremely unlikely but not impossible, and therefore it's the right thing to do to be prepared in case."
As of Sept. 5, there have been more than 6.2 million cases of the coronavirus in the United States and at least 188,031 deaths, according to recent data from the New York Times.
As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.
