‘Slap in the face’: Outrage erupts after Trump heaps praise on Pfizer CEO
Americans erupted on social media Tuesday after President Trump praised Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla for doing “a fantastic job with COVID.”
Bourla appeared alongside Trump in the Oval Office as the president unveiled a deal with Pfizer to cut drug prices and sell medications directly to patients in exchange for tariff relief. The company also reportedly agreed to sell future drugs “at parity” abroad—rather than forcing Americans to shoulder higher costs.
Trump told reporters his administration is in talks with other drug companies as well to ink similar deals.
“I was honored to have Albert be the first,” said the president. “He’s done a fantastic job with the COVID. He did a fantastic job with a lot of things. He’s a leader, and Pfizer is right at the top.”
Trump’s remarks drew outrage from many Americans who accused Bourla of engineering mass casualties worldwide with the Pfizer mRNA vaccines. Pfizer officials and Bourla himself repeatedly made false claims about the shots, at one point declaring they were “100% effective in preventing COVID cases.” Bourla also referred to those who questioned the safety and efficacy of the vaccine as “criminals,” even though their concerns turned out to be well-founded.
As of February 28, 2025, the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) reported 38,476 deaths and millions of adverse events linked to the COVID shots in the U.S. alone. The CDC uses VAERS to track vaccine safety signals, and it has been aware for at least a decade that VAERS data are underreported by a factor of 20.
‘I feel so betrayed’
“What a f*cking slap in the face to all of the people injured and killed by Pfizer,” Dr. Mary Talley Bowden wrote in response to Trump’s remarks. “Really heartless and disrespectful @POTUS.”
Bowden was one of many doctors who were targeted by hospitals and medical boards for warning about the dangers of the mRNA shots and recommending alternative treatments like ivermectin.
“Deal breaker right here. I didn't vote for this bullsh*t,” wrote another user.
“Remember Albert Bourla called folks criminals for putting forth a different narrative on his Covid vaccine,” said Edward Dowd, who has written extensively about the fatal effects of the shots. “Now Trump praises him today. Just outrageous. Always comforting when a CEO of a pharmaceutical company wants to criminalize those who questioned a company that wanted to hide its clinical trial data for 75 years.”
Another user said: “Trump just praised his ‘friend’ Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla who lied about vaccine efficacy and responsible for the deaths of 470,000 people. Infuriating! I feel so betrayed.”
