Biden had the perfect response to GOP governors calling vaccine mandates 'tyranny'

The fact that COVID-19 is surging in the United States once again and has killed more than 4.6 million people worldwide (according to Johns Hopkins University figures) hasn't stopped Republicans from trying to score political points by railing against President Joe Biden's new vaccine mandate, which requires employees of the federal government, medical workers and larger companies to be vaccinated for COVID-19. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, "Hillbilly Elegy" author J.D. Vance and hosts at Fox News (which has its own vaccine requirement) are among the Republicans who have been slamming Biden's mandate as authoritarian. But Biden isn't backing down, and he vigorously defended the mandate during a speech this week — calling out his GOP critics and stressing that his priority is saving American lives.

During his speech, Biden explained, "We're facing a lot of pushback, especially from some of the Republican governors. The governors of Florida and Texas are doing everything they can to undermine the life-saving requirements that I propose. And some of the same governors attacking me are in states with some of the strictest vaccine mandates for children attending school in the entire country."

"In Mississippi, children are required to be vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, hepatitis B, polio, tetanus and more," he continued. But in the midst of a pandemic that has already taken over 660,000 lives, I propose a requirement for covid vaccines, and the governor of that state calls it 'a tyrannical-type move.'"

Biden denounced the Mississippi governor's rhetoric as "the worst kind of politics."

Republicans have been attacking Biden's vaccine mandate as anti-business, but Biden stressed that getting more Americans vaccinated will, in fact, be great for U.S. businesses.

The president noted, "Wall Street firms have analyzed the impact of these plans, and they're projecting these new requirements will help 12 million more Americans get vaccinated — which will help more businesses stay open and more Americans get back to work," Biden noted. "The data shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans agree with my proposal; that's no surprise, given that 76% of American adults have already gotten at least one shot."