The mask controversy (updated 5/11/20)

In middle of pandemic, it's not just Trump who doesn't wear a mask. Most WH officials don't wear them around WH grounds either. w/ @Kevinliptakcnn and @betsy_klein https://t.co/4eYStGFV9e

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) May 7, 2020

Coverage of mask-wearing is being covered like the new "culture war" — just another blue vs. red divide. But something is different here as 2/3 of the country is wearing masks regularly. The divide is really within the GOP as roughly half of Republicans are and half aren't. pic.twitter.com/CcvOm11wFx

— Nick Gourevitch (@nickgourevitch) May 9, 2020

▪︎ Some think it infringes on their civil liberties
▪︎ Some think it could make them look weak
▪︎ Some find the guidance confusing
▪︎ Some find it uncomfortable https://t.co/YQnrj7H5CN

— CNN (@CNN) May 10, 2020

Trump says he didn't wear a mask at Honeywell factory because the company said he didn't need to.

But a statement sent to me by Honeywell strongly suggests the White House initiated this.

Trump is using these events to project fake normalcy.

New piece:https://t.co/MwuN6uNgUM

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) May 6, 2020

Underscoring how opposition to social distancing & other preventative measures has become a form of ideological & even religious belief. Question: how does the D mayor of Charlotte & D gov of NC feel about possibility of thousands of people w/some beliefs gathering in their city? https://t.co/tTm0ChYdqT

— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) May 6, 2020

“Models show that if 80 percent of people wear masks that are 60 percent effective, easily achievable with cloth, we can get to an effective R0 of less than one. That’s enough to halt the spread of the disease.” https://t.co/j7xNVtw02i

— Nada Bakos (@nadabakos) May 5, 2020

The damage Trump continues to do by being too vain to wear a mask https://t.co/HUIJsvDciu

— Robert Mackey (@RobertMackey) May 5, 2020

Yes, masks are now a political footballhttps://t.co/RbOX3f9dkv

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) May 5, 2020

What I don't understand is the rush to reopen AND the "protest" against wearing PPE. Wearing masks will mitigate the risks associated *with* reopening — allowing it to potentially accelerate faster while keeping spread down. So why don't GOP leaders aggressively promote it??

— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) May 6, 2020

The MAGA hostility to masks seems somehow on brand, though it’s not so easy to say why. Some kind of faux manliness, faux Americanism thing? You say masks and they think niqabs and burkas? Don’t mask me =s don’t tread on me? Could an appeal to the Lone Ranger get them on board?

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 6, 2020

.@RyanLizza tells @smerconish that masks have become “the first symbol, I think, of the pandemic that has been sort of politicized.”

“It should just be a science-based decision, right? There shouldn't really be a big political debate about this.” https://t.co/45FijaXDw0 pic.twitter.com/4cgrXrtBM2

— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) May 2, 2020

Wearing a mask protects others in case you’ve contracted the virus & don’t know it yet or are asymptomatic. It’s an act of kindness & caring for others, especially essential workers, to wear one in public.

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) May 2, 2020

Since masks mostly protect other people from you rather than the other way around, refusing to wear one means you are a selfish jerk, not a brave voice protesting authority. So very on brand for this WH and the modern GOP. https://t.co/6hIfSwrTNY

— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) May 1, 2020

.⁦@dlippman⁩ and I wrote about the politicization of masks, yet another sign that in a deeply polarized America almost anything can be turned into a token of tribal affiliation. https://t.co/87R77fBEKJ

— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) May 1, 2020

Mask or no mask? The face mask is becoming a political symbol in the brewing culture war over the coronavirus. https://t.co/G1A60ya4sJ

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 7, 2020