Aaron Rodgers calls out Biden's 'fake White House' after vaccine spat
Ahead of the divisional round encounter with the 49ers, the Green Bay Packers quarterback was having another clash, this time with the President of the US.
As the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers hone their preparations for their divisional clash, one of the expected stars of the game was having another battle. Nothing serious though, it was only against the President of the United States.
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Aaron Rodgers and the "fake White House"
That's right, following comments made by the current Oval Office incumbent Joe Biden about the player's need to get a covid-19 vaccination, Rodgers was clearly not in a conciliatory mood when he discussed the matter with ESPN.
"Tell that quarterback he's gotta get the vaccine," Biden said to a Packers fan when visiting Kentucky following the tornado that ravaged parts of the state in December. An exchange that was caught on video and shared widely.
Rodgers was aware of it.
Speaking with Pat McAfee and A.J. Hawk, the quarterback fired back, not only focusing on that comment but providing his own jabs in the direction of a president who he struggles to understand gets votes. He even flirted with Trump-like conspiracies over the 'fake White House'.
"When the president of the United States says, 'This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,' it's because him and his constituents, which, I don't know how there are any if you watch any of his attempts at public speaking, but I guess he got 81 million votes.
"But when you say stuff like that, and then you have the CDC, which, how do you even trust them, but then they come out and talk about 75% of the covid deaths have at least four co-morbidities.
"And you still have this fake White House set saying that this is the pandemic of the unvaccinated, that's not helping the conversation."
You'll no doubt be aware that Rodgers has said that he is not vaccinated because, he states, is allergic to the Pfizer and Moderna shots... oh, and he just doesn't fancy the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. A true role model to a certain type of person.
Looking ahead to the main event: Packers vs 49ers
As the two teams ready themselves for another playoff encounter, many eyes will be on Rodgers, who has a very linked history with the 49ers.
With Joe Montana as his idol, growing up in north California as a 49ers fan it would have maybe been a perfect story to see him strutting his stuff on Santa Clara. But it wasn’t to be.
When Rodgers became available in the 2005 draft, another promising quarterback was in the mix. And sure enough, the 49ers - who had the top overall pick - ignored their local boy for Washington born, Utah schooled, Alex Smith. Tampa Bay would grab their now star with the 24th overall pick. And he came in as back up to Favre and didn’t take over the mantle until 2008, but he stepped up admirably.
What is Rodgers’ record against the 49ers?
In his first four years directly against Smith - who headed off to Kansas in 2013 - Rodgers came out on top in two of three regular season match-ups. His overall record against the 49ers, however, stands at 6-6, and just looking at the playoff games it’s a dismal 0-3.
Check out his overall numbers in this game thanks to our friends at SofaScore.
Can Rodgers stop his 49ers playoff rot? You’ll be able to follow all the build-up, action and reaction live with us here on AS USA.