GOP, with one notable exception, now covers the use of masks

By Aamer Madhani and Laurie Kellman | Associated Press

WASHINGTON – In Republican circles, with the notable exception of the man leading the party, the debate over masks is over: it’s time to put one on.

As a wave of infections hit the south and west, Republican officials are rejecting the notion that the masks are about politics, as President Donald Trump suggests, and telling Americans that they can help save lives.

Senator Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, bluntly asked Trump on Tuesday to start wearing a mask, at least sometimes, to set a good example.

Unfortunately, this simple, life-saving practice has become part of a political debate that says: If you are for Trump, you don’t wear a mask. If you are against Trump, you do it, ”said Alexander.

It’s a rare break for Trump Republicans, who earlier this month told the Wall Street Journal that some people wear masks simply to show that they disapprove. And the Republican push for the public, and the President, to adopt the use of masks comes from all corners of the Trump party and even from conservative and friendly media.

Both Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have in recent days urged Americans to wear one when they cannot maintain social distance. Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah, told reporters that it would be “very helpful” for Trump to encourage the use of masks.

“Put on a mask, it’s not complicated,” McConnell, R-Kentucky, urged Americans during their weekly press conference on Tuesday.

Last week, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming tweeted a photo of her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, wearing a disposable mask and a cowboy hat. She included the message: “Dick Cheney says WEAR A MASK #realmenwearmasks,” a hashtag that echoed the words previously spoken by Speaker of the Democratic House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.

Steve Doocy, co-host of Trump’s friendly morning show “Fox & Friends,” said during an interview with House of Representatives minority leader Kevin McCarthy that he “sees no downside to the president seeing him more frequently. “

McCarthy, a Republican from California, responded that, for the upcoming vacation, “we could all show our patriotism in a red, white, and blue mask.”

Jacksonville, the Florida city where Trump is slated to accept his nomination as Republican presidential candidate in August, announced a mask requirement for closed public spaces this week. The president’s oldest son said the new requirements were not a big deal.

“You know, I don’t think it’s too complicated to wear a mask or wash your hands and follow basic hygiene protocols,” Donald Trump Jr. told Fox Business on Tuesday.

Trump aides have defended the president’s refusal to wear a mask, noting that he is regularly tested for the coronavirus, as are his aides. Those outside the administration, including visitors to the White House and members of the media who are very close to him and Pence, are also evaluated.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany did not directly address Republican calls for Trump to wear a mask in public more frequently, but noted that the President has said in the past that he has no problem wearing it when necessary. .

But even with safeguards, the virus has reached the White House. A senior assistant to Pence, as well as a military valet to Trump, tested positive for the virus in May.

Still, wearing masks is still rare in the West Wing, said Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat who attended a White House intelligence meeting Tuesday with senior members of the president’s staff.

In the briefing, which he said included eight White House employees, only national security adviser Robert O’Brien wore a mask, Sherman said. He added that no one in the secure information room was able to maintain 6 feet of social distance, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“I learned something important, and that is that the White House is a mask-free zone,” Sherman told The Associated Press. “The President is consistent. It’s fine with people who don’t wear masks. “

Polls show how the partisan divide in the masks has infiltrated public opinion.

The vast majority of Democrats think that people in their community should wear a mask when they are around other people in public places at least most of the time, including 63% who say they should always do so, according to a Center poll. of Pew Research published in early June. . Among Republicans, 29% say masks should always be worn, and 23% say they should be worn most of the time. Another 23% say that masks should rarely or never be worn.

Trump was once caught on camera once wearing a mask.But Pence and members of the White House coronavirus task force frequently appear in public masks.

“If you want the return of college football this year, put on a mask. If you want a shot at the prom next spring, put on a face mask, “Surgeon General Jerome Adams urged the Americans.

In the course of the crisis, the government has sent mixed messages about the masks. As the first cases of COVID-19 were identified on US soil, top public health officials insisted that the masks should be reserved for front-line workers.

In early April, the CDC issued a recommendation that people wear cloth covers in public places where other social distancing measures were difficult to maintain.