Democrats Easing COVID-19 Mandates Because of Public Pressure: US Senate Candidate

U.S. Senate candidate Jackson Lahmeyer on NTD's Capitol Report, on Feb. 17, 2022, in a still from video. NTD/Screenshot via The Epoch Times

Oklahoma candidate for U.S. Senate Pastor Jackson Lahmeyer said Democrat cities with the country’s harshest mandates and pandemic restrictions are starting to ease these policies because they are seeing people push back.

“These Democratic leaders, they’re starting to see the American people fight back and we’re seeing it in Canada. It’s a beautiful thing,” said Lahmeyer told NTD Capitol Report host Steve Lance in a Feb. 17 interview.

“Since Sept. 9, I have personally signed over 55,000 COVID-19 religious exemption forms, helping thousands of people keep their jobs without taking the jab.”

In September 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order mandating vaccination for all federal employees but “subject to such exceptions as required by law.” However, many in the U.S. military and other federal employees say they have been denied religious exemption status.

Citizens all over the world have been protesting vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions. One of the most impactful protests is the trucker Freedom Convoy in Ottawa, Canada, which has been protesting vaccine mandates and travel restrictions.

There have been many protests in the United States as well, including the Defeat the Mandate rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 23, in which people said they were not anti-vaccine but anti-mandates. They said individuals should have the right to choose their medical procedures.

After nearly two years of tight control, Democrat lead states, including New Jersey, New York, Delaware, and Connecticut, in recent weeks started lifting vaccine and mask mandates, prompting speculation that public sentiment may have contributed to their decisions. Several Democrat-led cities, including Philadelphia and Washington, also announced the end to their respective vaccine passport mandates for restaurants.

U.S. midterm elections will decide control of the U.S. House and Senate in November and many Republicans have said Democrats easing mandates is a political move. However, White House COVID-19 adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested that politics had little to do with decisions in recent weeks from Democrat officials to rescind COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates.

“When you use the word ‘politics,’ I’m not sure it’s that. I just think at the local level, there’s a strong feeling of needing to get back to normality,” Fauci said during the Feb. 15 interview. “Now, if you look at the science of it, I mean the direction is going in the right direction. Are we there yet in every single place throughout the country? I don’t believe so.”

“This is the United States of America. This is not communist China. This is not the old Soviet Union. This is the USA, and we’re going to have to fight to keep our freedoms, especially when it comes to medical freedom,” said Lahmeyer.

“What we’re seeing in Canada is a warning of what’s going to be coming here to America. You know, Justin Trudeau is showing his true colors, and that’s what tyrants do when they get pushed up against the wall. These truckers have said enough is enough,” added Lahmeyer.

Supporters of the Freedom Convoy protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions in front of Parliament of Canada, in Ottawa, Canada, on Jan. 28, 2022. A convoy of truckers started off from Vancouver on Jan. 23, 2022, on its way to protest against the mandate in the capital city of Ottawa. Dave Chan/AFP via Getty Images

“We need to recognize that these truckers are doing this for a purpose, and that purpose is they’re standing up for freedom and … we need to support them.”

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.