Trump lauds Big 10, says CDC 'confused' on vaccine

President Donald Trump congratulated the Big Ten Conference which announced Wednesday it will give fall college football a shot after all.

The Big Ten reversed a decision to delay the season to spring after pushback from lawmakers, coaches and parents and President Trump.

Speaking to reporters at a White House news conference, Trump thanked the players and coaches "for working along," saying "they wanted it very badly."

Trump also called on the PAC-12 to also "open up" and start playing. The Pac-12 followed the Big Ten in postponing, but was far more detailed in its explanation and had more obvious hurdles to clear. Half the Pac-12 schools are still operating under statewide restrictions  that make it impossible for teams to practice.

The president also said the Centers for Diease Control and Prevention director, Dr. Robert Redfield was "confused" when he told lawmakers earlier Wednesday that a COVID vaccine would not be broadly available until the spring or summer of 2021.

Trump said Redfield "made a mistake when he said that. It's just incorrect information," and insisted again that the U.S. could be ready to start distributing a vaccine next month.

"We're ready to go immediately as the vaccine is announced and it could be announced in October, could be announced a little bit after October. But once we go, we're ready," Trump said.