Trump Warns ‘COVID Tyrants’ Are Eyeing Lockdowns to Interfere with 2024 Election

Former president Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that “left-wing lunatics are trying very hard to bring back COVID lockdowns and mandates ” to allegedly interfere with the 2024 presidential election, Breitbart reports.

“The left-wing lunatics are trying very hard to bring back COVID lockdowns and mandates with all of their sudden fear-mongering about the new variants that are coming. Gee-whiz, you know what else is coming? An election,” the 2024 presidential candidate claimed in a video posted to X.

“They want to restart the COVID hysteria so they can justify more lockdowns, more censorship, more illegal drop boxes, more mail-in ballots, and trillions of dollars in payoffs to their political allies heading into the 2024 election. Does that sound familiar?” he alleged.

The 45th president of the United States added that “These are bad people, these are sick people we’re dealing with.”

“But to every COVID tyrant who wants to take away our freedom, hear these words: we will not comply. So don’t even think about it,” he continued. “We will not shut down our schools. We will not except your lockdowns. We will not abide by your mask mandates, and we will not tolerate your vaccine mandates.”

Trump further claimed that the 2020 election was “rigged,” and that his opposition is “trying to do the same thing all over again by rigging the most important election in the history of our country — the 2024 election — even if it means trying to bring back COVID.”

“But they will fail because we will not let it happen,” he said, also promising to “use every available authority” if he is reelected to cut federal funding to any school, college, airline, or public transportation system that imposes a mask mandate or a vaccine mandate.

Amidst the ongoing discussions about COVID-19 variants and potential responses, former President Trump has offered his insights. As institutions across the nation, including schools, businesses, and hospitals, reintroduce mask mandates in light of the EG.5 and BA 2.86 variants, Trump’s remarks have drawn attention. The World Health Organization categorized EG.5 as a “variant of interest,” yet noted that its impact on global public health remains limited. Notably, despite a slight increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations, these numbers are still comparatively low, historically speaking.

President Joe Biden, too, has expressed his intentions to seek additional funding from Congress for the development of a new coronavirus vaccine. He also hinted at the possibility of universal vaccination, irrespective of prior inoculation status.

Observing these unfolding trends, segments of social media users and conservative voices in the media sphere have speculated about the potential return of mandates and lockdowns. These notions have prompted fact-checking endeavors, with some claims being deemed as “unsupported.”

“These rumors are utterly false,” Nick Spinelli, a CDC spokesperson, told the left-leaning FactCheck.org.

Recalling the experiences of pandemic-induced lockdowns, it’s noteworthy that these measures were widely regarded as ineffective and detrimental to the overall well-being of Americans. A recent peer-reviewed study conducted by researchers, including economics Professor Steve H. Hanke from Johns Hopkins University, found that lockdowns exhibited a “negligible” impact on mortality rates when weighed against the significant collateral costs they incurred.

The fallout from these measures encompassed severe learning deficits, a surge in substance abuse and alcoholism, elevated suicide rates, and amplified social isolation. Devastating impacts were reported by 90% of small businesses due to government-mandated shutdowns. While some individuals were prevented from attending religious gatherings, liquor stores remained operational. Weddings were postponed, individuals faced challenges attending funerals, and many were barred from being with their terminally ill loved ones.