President Donald Trump’s continued mocking of wearing masks has led to a backlash by a growing number of Republicans, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
Rejecting the president’s suggestion that wearing a mask is a sign of personal weakness or political correctness, Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said on Twitter this week that “Wearing a face covering is not about politics - it’s about helping other people.”
Other leading Republicans have shown solid support for wearing a mask, such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who posted a photograph of himself in a mask on Instagram.
Many in the GOP, such as Texas Sen. John Cornyn, are facing reelection and the public overwhelmingly supports the need to wear a mask. Cornyn shared a photo of himself in a mask and encouraged others to also wear one.
In Congress, all GOP senators wear masks when they are around the Capitol, while in the House, a minority of Republican representatives, particularly Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan have taken to the symbolism of refusing to wear one.
The numerous displays of GOP support for the scientific consensus that wearing a mask is an effective method to slow the spread of the coronavirus is in sharp contrast to Trump, who ridiculed presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for wearing one.
When asked by CNN if wearing a mask projected strength or weakness, Biden called Trump “an absolute fool” for his mockery and said “presidents are supposed to lead, not engage in folly and be falsely masculine.”
When a reporter asked Trump about his criticism of Biden, the president accused the journalist of being “politically correct” for not removing his mask to ask the question.
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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