Somebody can read the polls. For weeks, a large majority of the American public has been saying that face masks should be worn to help stem the spread of coronavirus, particularly now that states are forging ahead with reopening plans. While Donald Trump is pejoratively calling mask-wearing "politically correct," Mitch McConnell has decided it's safer to pander to the public on this one.
"There's no stigma attached to wearing a mask. There's no stigma attached to staying six feet apart," he said Thursday at an event in Kentucky. He even said "you have an obligation to others," in stressing the need, particularly among young people, to abide by these safety guidelines, especially masks. "That's not too much to ask of a younger person," McConnell said. "So to get through this next phase, as we ease back into normal, even if you're in a low-risk category, do what we're asking you to do for the good of others as we begin to move back to normal." As if McConnell cares about the good of others. No, there's an angle here, a political one.
We can save the nation in the next pandemic. We can boot McConnell and his majority, with your $3.
McConnell cares about his Senate majority. He might even care about some of those individual senators—in the most geriatric political body in the nation—who care about their own health. That was brought home Thursday, when Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, announced that he had tested positive for antibodies to coronavirus. His case was mild, thankfully, but brought home the reality that even such exalted creatures as U.S. senators aren't out of the reach of infection.
More likely McConnell is thinking about where the American public is right now and thinks it can't hurt to err on their side on the mask thing, even if it means potentially angering Trump. Besides, he's got bigger fish to fry. Like continuing to fight to make sure all his corporate buddies can get away with endangering their employees and customers in the next coronavirus relief bill.