Trump Questions Florida’s Move to Drop Vaccine Mandates

President Donald Trump expressed reservations about the new Florida policy that would eliminate school vaccine mandates, saying that some vaccines are “amazing.”

Speaking to the press inside the Oval Office on Friday, Sept. 5, Trump, 79, said of the vaccine policy, “I think we have to be very careful. You have some vaccines that are so amazing.”

“You have some vaccines that are so incredible,” he continued, per The Hill, citing the polio vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine, which was developed during his first term in office.

“I think you have to be very careful when you say some people don’t have to be vaccinated. It’s a very tough position,” Trump added of the Florida policy. “Just initially, I heard about it yesterday, and it’s a tough stance.”

Florida’s proposal would lift mandates on vaccinations against diseases including measles, polio, hepatitis B and chickenpox, which have been required to attend public schools for decades.

“Look, you have vaccines that work,” the president added. “They just pure and simple work. They’re not controversial at all, and I think those vaccines should be used, otherwise some people are going to catch it, and they endanger other people. And when you don’t have controversy at all, I think people should take it.”

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo first announced at a press conference, hosted by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, Sept. 3, that every vaccine requirement in Florida schools will be repealed.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery,” Ladapo, a longtime critic of vaccines, said during the press conference.

“Who am I as a government or anyone else, who am I as a man standing here now, to tell you what you should put in your body?” he continued. “Who am I to tell you what your child should put in [their] body? I don’t have that right.” 

Ladapo’s announcement was quickly met with backlash by other Florida officials.

Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani, who is also running for Orlando mayor, said that getting rid of vaccines “is reckless and dangerous” and could quickly lead to outbreaks of preventable disease.

“This is a public health disaster in the making for the Sunshine State,” she wrote on X.

House Democratic leader Fentrice Driskell also slammed the announcement and called the plan “stunningly reckless.”

“DeSantis wants to trade the health of our kids for media headlines,” she said in a statement. “If this happened, Florida would be welcoming back child-killers like polio and measles with open arms.”

Wednesday’s announcement also comes shortly after DeSantis revealed the establishment of the Florida Make America Healthy Again commission, which will recommend state-level integration of Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s controversial Make America Healthy Again effort.

“The Florida MAHA commission will prioritize reforms that empower Floridians, reduce regulatory burdens and hold actors accountable for their conduct, while fostering incentives for healthy living and innovation,” the governor said.