Liz Cheney, the Republican No. 3 in the House of Representatives, released her father’s photo as lawmakers push harder for their constituents to wear face masks to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Trump has been reluctant to wear a mask, despite advice from public health experts.
“Dick Cheney says WEAR A MASK. #Realmenwearmasks,” Cheney tweeted Friday along with a photo of his father wearing a mask.
According to data from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, some masks remain a point of conflict for some politicians, especially Trump, even when the number of coronavirus cases exceeds 2.4 million. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says everyone “should wear a cloth face cover when they have to go out in public, for example, to the supermarket or to pick up other necessities.”
But Trump has continued to defy health recommendations and has been reluctant to be seen wearing a mask in public. He recently told The Wall Street Journal that the masks are “a double-edged sword” and also suggested that the masks be used as a political statement, rather than a health precaution, to show disapproval.
Some Republican governors, such as Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, have balked at demanding the use of face masks in public in their states despite new spikes in coronaviruses in their states. Experts say wearing a face mask or other face covering could reduce Covid-19 transmission by up to 50%.
Cheney’s comments Friday were not the first to go against the president’s decisions in the fight against the coronavirus.
Cheney said in March that the United States must tackle its health care crisis to restore the economy, as some of Trump’s allies pushed to reopen the country despite the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.
“There will be no normally functioning economy if our hospitals are overwhelmed and thousands of Americans of all ages, including our doctors and nurses, die because we have been unable to do what it takes to stop the virus,” Cheney wrote on Twitter.
In April, Cheney rejected a false claim by Trump that he has “full” authority to decide to lift the restrictions that governors have imposed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“The federal government has no absolute power,” Cheney tweeted at the time, although he did not explicitly mention the president.
The Wyoming Republican invoked the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution in her tweet, saying: “‘Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.’ Constitution of the United States, Amendment X. “
Cheney is not alone asking to wear masks. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, whose Florida state has seen a recent surge in coronavirus cases, said Wednesday that “everyone should wear a damn mask.”
Presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden said Friday that if he were elected president, it would be mandatory to wear a mask in public. Last month, Trump and the White House taunted Biden for wearing an outdoor mask for a Memorial Day event, prompting Biden to respond in an interview with CNN, calling Trump “an absolute fool “
CNN’s Alex Rogers, Clare Foran, Veronica Stracqualursi and Sarah Mucha contributed to this report.
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