Six months into a crisis that has killed 177,000 people in the United States, Republicans — led by President Trump — can’t seem to wrap their heads around a simple premise: listen to public health experts.
Instead, they insist on flouting recommendations and guidance, setting a poor example for the country while they play politics with a dangerous pandemic. Just today, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and First Lady Melania Trump were spotted scorning masks and social distancing, as they desperately try to stave off the President’s electoral disaster, and risk spreading the virus to others.
[Twitter, @therecount, 08/24/20]
[Twitter, @KateBennett_DC, 08/24/20]
BACKGROUND: President Trump Has Routinely Ridiculed Masks, Downplayed Their Effectiveness
- Trump On July 21: “In Theory, You Don’t Need The Mask.” “Despite his insistence during his prepared remarks that American embrace widespread mask usage, during reporter questions, the president took a softer stance on them, saying without evidence: ‘In theory, you don’t need the mask,’ but acknowledging that he was growing more comfortable with wearing them.” [NPR, 7/21/20]
- On June 20, Trump Flouted CDC Guidelines And Did Not Require Mask Wearing During His Indoor Rally In Tulsa, Oklahoma. “Inside, virtually none of those assembled in front of the stage wore masks, and few throughout the rest of the arena had face covers. The few who did were vastly outnumbered by those who did not. ‘What we are seeing at this rally is a very overt denial’ that coronavirus still poses a health danger, Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, said on MSNBC. ‘How bizarre has this gotten?’” [NBC News, 6/20/20]
- On June 19, Trump Claimed Americans Were Wearing Facemasks Only To Signal Disapproval Of Him. “Mr. Trump said testing for Covid-19 was overrated and allowed for the possibility that some Americans wore facial coverings not as a preventive measure but as a way to signal disapproval of him. Many public-health experts say testing followed by quarantining sick individuals and their close contacts is crucial to contain the spread of the virus.” [Wall Street Journal, 7/19/20]
- Trump Baselessly Claimed That Mask Wearing Was Contributing To Increased Infections Because People Touch Their Faces While Wearing Them. “The president said his bigger problem with masks was that many people fidget with the coverings, which he said made them more likely to be infected. The federal-government guidelines stipulate that wearing cloth face coverings helps slow the spread of Covid-19 and recommends washing hands before putting on the mask. ‘They put their finger on the mask, and they take them off, and then they start touching their eyes and touching their nose and their mouth,’ Mr. Trump said. ‘And then they don’t know how they caught it?’” [Wall Street Journal, 7/19/20]
- On May 26, Trump Accused A Reporter Of Only Wearing A Mask At The White House Because He Wanted To Be “Politically Correct.” “President Donald Trump suggested to a news reporter they were being ‘politically correct’ for wearing a face mask during a press conference at the Rose Garden of the White House on Tuesday afternoon. Trump, who was speaking about federal assistance for senior citizens with diabetes, was answering two questions from Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason. The president was asked about his remarks about former Vice President Joe Biden’s decision to wear a mask outside in public on Memorial Day weekend, and about Trump fueling a debunked conspiracy theory in recent days.” [Business Insider, 5/26/20]
- On May 26, President Trump Even Mocked Vice President Joe Biden For Wearing A Mask In Public. “President Donald Trump on Monday shared a tweet mocking his presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential challenger, Joe Biden, for wearing a face mask during a public appearance for Memorial Day. ‘This might help explain why Trump doesn’t like to wear a mask in public. Biden today,’ said the message by Brit Hume, a Fox News political commentator, alongside a message of Biden wearing a black mask and sunglasses.” [Business Insider, 5/26/20]