On Memorial Day, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wore a black face mask while laying a wreath at a veterans memorial in Delaware. Biden’s mask drew ridicule from some in conservative media, including Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume, whose mocking commentary was retweeted by President Donald Trump.



Beyond simple mockery, a few right-wing media voices declared that Biden’s decision to wear a face mask exemplifies the alleged liberal promotion of fear, saying “they’re going crazy” that “Trump will not give them this” by wearing a mask himself (even though he has.) This all comes as the Trump campaign is reportedly anchoring part of its reelection strategy on “plenty more mask-free outings from Trump, hyping the reopening of the economy and avoiding discussions of social distancing and death counts.”

• Rush Limbaugh claimed that “the mask has become a required symbol on the left to promote fear” and “indecision,” and Biden looked “like an abject idiot.” Limbaugh also theorized that “they haven’t been able to get Trump in a mask and they’re going crazy. …  This is what they want to be able to show everybody Trump doing, and Trump will not give them this.”
• Washington Free Beacon’s Noah Pollak: “In this outdoor setting where he was only physically close to his wife, masks were completely unnecessary. But masks have become a form of political signaling for the left, an expression of virtuous obedience to the lockdown and hostility to Trump. So the Bidens wore them.”
• Fox’s Brit Hume: “This might help explain why Trump doesn’t like to wear a mask in public. Biden today.” Hume’s tweet was retweeted by the President. Hume later wondered why Biden would need a mask even though he only accompanied by his wife. (Unmentioned by Hume is that Trump’s own surgeon general recommended just days ago that everyone wear a mask “if you plan to be out in public.”)
• Buck Sexton: “Biden looks like he should be chasing Frodo across Middle Earth on horseback in his maniacal search for the one ring to rule them all.”
• The Gateway Pundit commented that Biden “looked like a weak fool with his face mask on.” The rest of the article was about the former Vice President’s allegedly frail manner of walking in a 13-second clip.
• A New York Post editorial titled “‘Moderate’ Joe Biden has embraced hyper-liberalism and other commentary” is topped by a photo of a masked Biden.
• Ann Coulter tweeted an image of a face mask drawn upside-down over Biden’s eyes: “I made this little graphic to illustrate what I imagine Joe Biden looks like when he puts on hIs COVID mask.”
• Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec: “Only a complete idiot would wear a mask outdoors.”