On Thursday, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden proposed a three-month national mask mandate, saying that “every governor should mandate mandatory mask-wearing” in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Right-wing media immediately leapt at the opportunity to smear Biden’s proposal as “tyrannical,” incorrectly stating that he wants to implement mask-wearing indefinitely and taking Biden out of context to suggest an indifference to Americans’ rights.
As the U.S. continues to grapple with its unique failure to address the coronavirus, it’s clear that wearing masks is a simple and effective way to mitigate the spread, and the Center for Disease Control recommends their use. A July study found that 40,000 lives could have been saved in two months if a national mask mandate for public-facing employees had been implemented in April. A model from the University of Washington found that near-universal mask-wearing in the U.S. could prevent between 17,742 and 28,030 deaths by October 1; an April projection from Arizona State University found that “24–65% of projected deaths could be prevented in Washington state in April and May if 80% of people wore cloth or homemade masks in public.”
Still, a portion of the American public has remained resistant to the idea of wearing masks. Facebook is rife with groups of people pushing disinformation around the science behind mask wearing, and multiple interactions have gone viral this summer showing people berating employees trying to enforce mask mandates. (This week, Republican Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzer signed a law making it a felony to assault an employee trying to enforce mask-wearing.)
While polls have shown significant support in the U.S. for mask mandates, some in right-wing media have joined President Donald Trump in attacking Biden’s proposal. Some are arguing that a mandate would be “tyrannical,” while others have incorrectly suggested that Biden wants to implement mask-wearing indefinitely. Some are also taking Biden out of context to suggest that he doesn’t care about Americans’ rights, while the full context shows Biden encouraging people to prioritize the responsibility to mitigate the spread over one’s right to refuse to wear a mask. Here are some examples:
- Fox host Greg Gutfeld suggested that Biden is a “tyrant” for proposing a mask mandate, and co-host Jesse Waters asked another co-host, “Do you think this is tyrannical?”
- The Daily Caller quoted Trump in a headline: “Biden’s national mask mandate shows ‘an appalling lack of respect for the American people.’”
- Fox host Tucker Carlson declared that “you don't have any rights anymore.” His guest Fox News medical contributor Marc Siegel described the proposed mandate as “the politics of fear: big government edition.”