Biden admin. mocked for enlisting TikTok star to push COVID vaccinations
The Biden administration has faced immense criticism from Republicans for enlisting a TikTok star to film at the White House in an effort to push COVID-19 vaccinations.
TikTok user and comedian Benny Drama, whose real name is Benito Skinner and has over 944,000 followers on TikTok, posted a video on his Instagram account (where he has 1.4 million followers) last week as his recurring character “Kooper the Gen Z intern.” Donning long nails, a skirt and no mask, the social media star attempted to convey “a day in my life as a White House intern.”
“Kooper the Gen Z (@whitehouse) intern wants SHOTS IN ARMS,” Drama’s account read, urging Americans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
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The video post notes that it was filmed at a time when the Biden administration stopped requiring vaccinated staff to wear masks and before the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's masking guidelines, which is why White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Skinner are not wearing masks.
While the video consists of Drama showing himself in different parts of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and the West Wing, pretending to answer the phone, the primary purpose of the short video was to encourage Americans to get vaccinated.
“We need to get shots in the arms of every single American,” he said into a telephone as he put his feet up on the desk while Psaki looked on.
“We’ve come a long way in our fight against this virus,” Psaki remarked. “We’ve vaccinated over 160 million Americans.”
When she asked if the “intern” was writing down the information, he responded “Don’t worry queen. It’s all up here.”
Critics of the Biden administration quickly mocked their use of a cross-dressing TikTok star to push Americans to get vaccinated. Donald Trump Jr. sarcastically responded to the skit with the quip: “Next they’re going to waterboard you till you get vaccinated.” He suggested that “there’s no way that would be worse than watching this.”
While the former first son's post has since been deleted, his tweet remains live, as does another tweet he sent in response to the video: “Seems like a very effective way to reach … out to vax reluctant groups like minorities, Trump voters, and Conservatives in general. Great work guys. Glad the ‘adults’ are back in the WH.”
Seems like a very effective way to reach a out to vax reluctant groups like minorities, Trump Voters, and Conservatives in general. Great work guys. Glad the “adults” are back in the WH. https://t.co/dliVqejHNF
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 9, 2021
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee simply reacted to the video by sending out a tweet reading: “Joe Biden’s America.” In response, Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., accused her colleagues of homophobia. “Tell me you’re homophobic without telling me you’re homophobic,” she wrote on Twitter.
Joe Biden’s America. pic.twitter.com/Srd4omUj5t
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) August 9, 2021
As indicated by Rice’s commentary, Drama identifies as queer. According to a profile in The New York Times, he has a boyfriend and “moved to California during the pandemic to expand his career as a sketch artist and comedian.” In addition to performing impersonations of celebrities, Drama “plays a variety of characters he dreamed up himself,” including Kooper, who is “egregiously unaware of how to behave professionally at work.”
Drama is not the first Gen Z personality the White House has recruited in an attempt to boost vaccinations. Olivia Rodrigo, an 18-year old actress and pop singer, was a celebrity guest at a White House press conference last month, where Psaki thanked her for using her platform to emphasize “the importance of young people getting vaccinated.”
After announcing that Rodrigo had come to the White House to meet with President Joe Biden and his medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, the performer told the White House Press Corps that she was “beyond honored and humbled to be here today to help spread the message about the importance of youth vaccination.”
Rodrigo added that she was “in awe of the work President Biden and Dr. Fauci have done.” Drama briefly referenced Rodrigo’s appearance at the White House during his video portraying Kooper as a White House intern. He asked Psaki if Rodrigo was still there and she replied with a “no.”
According to the CDC, more than 196 million Americans have received at least one dose of an available coronavirus vaccine, accounting for approximately 59.2% of the U.S. population. More than 167 million Americans, equivalent to slightly more than half the population, are fully vaccinated.
More than 90% of Americans over the age of 65, the group most vulnerable to experiencing serious illness as a result of coronavirus, have received at least one dose of the vaccine. More than 80% of senior citizens are fully vaccinated.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
