John Cooper, frontman and bassist for the Grammy-nominated Christian rock band SKILLET, has spoken out against President Joe Biden’s recent vaccinations, calling them “tyrannical” and “totalitarian.”
Earlier this month, Biden announced new federal requirements that all employers with more than 100 employees must vaccinate their workers or test for the virus weekly, affecting about 80 million Americans. Another 17 million people in federally-funded health care facilities will also be required to be fully vaccinated.
On Monday (Sept. 20), Cooper addressed Biden’s mandate in the latest edition of his podcast “Cooper Stuff.”
“Everything that’s going on here is an insane power grab. It’s just an attack on Western values, on freedom, on what the West has built, because when you look at the data, it’s such an absolute lie, it’s such a tactic of intimidation and tyranny and totalitarianism that you can’t help but ask questions. If you think vaccines are a good thing, you have to look at what’s going on and say, ‘Okay, something really nefarious is going on.'”
Referring to Biden’s comment during his Sept. 9 speech that his patience with the tens of millions of Americans who have yet to be vaccinated is “wearing thin,” Cooper said:
“The president is losing patience with you. You’re a problem. You’re probably a bigot, some kind of phob, you’re the problem, and you hate people.
What’s happening is a revolution against the West, against American values,” John repeated. – But, in fact, at the heart of it all is Christianity. That’s why we’re on the verge of death. I want to encourage you in your faith, to keep your eyes open, to see what’s really going on.
You don’t have to agree with me on everything. I have never taken a hard line on vaccines. And even when I talk about masks, I’ve said what I think about masks and such. You have the grace to do what you think is right. That’s perfectly fine. I’m against this absolute tyranny that’s going on, this totalitarianism.”
The 46-year-old SKILLET frontman himself claims to be unvaccinated. The musician has publicly questioned why officials are reluctant to talk about the fact that recent studies have demonstrated the power of natural immunity acquired by the previously infected virus. According to The Washington Post, a study of 700,000 people in Israel three weeks ago found that those previously infected were 27 times less likely to get a second symptomatic COVID infection than those who were vaccinated.
“They’re lying to us,” John adds. – To me, that’s the end of the conversation. Why are you lying to us? We also know that there are many complications, many people have had adverse reactions to these vaccines. You’re not allowed to say that; it makes you go off social media. A lot of people who have these adverse reactions, if they contracted COVID and then got the vaccine, may be more likely to have adverse reactions. In other words, you may put yourself at greater risk by getting the vaccine if you’ve already had COVID, according to the data we have now. Why aren’t they saying that?”