McConnell Breaks With Trump On Masks, Says There’s ‘No Stigma’ To Wearing Them

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) listens to President Donald Trump speak during a press conference on May 19, 2020. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

President Donald Trump claims wearing masks is about being “politically correct” during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) doesn’t seem to agree.

“There’s no stigma attached to wearing a mask,” McConnell said on Wednesday during an event in Kentucky, according to Politico. “There’s no stigma attached to staying six feet apart.”

The GOP leader said that he himself wears masks in order to set a “good example.”

He asserted that wearing masks, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended to prevent asymptomatic people infect more vulnerable and older people, is “not too much to ask of a younger person,” who are less likely to experience the more life-threatening aspects of the virus.

“Just because you’re 21, it doesn’t mean you don’t have a responsibility to other people, even though your chances of having a problem are pretty slim,” said McConnell.

“I think the more we can say that the better,” he added.

McConnell is the latest conservative to clash with Trump on wearing facial coverings, a guideline the President has publicly flouted while disparaging it as a “politically correct” measure, fueling the notion that wearing a mask is merely an anti-Trump stunt.

On Tuesday night, Fox News host Sean Hannity urged viewers to “please wear the mask,” as have GOP governors to their constituents.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. It’s really too bad the way Mitch McConnell got away with helping Joe Scarborough kill Lori Klausutis.

  2. Is this particular rat getting ready to jump ship or is he just peeking over the railing?

  3. Mitch poking his toe in the pool of common sense.

  4. If McConnell approves of mask wearing, I must resist the temptation to burn my mask and scatter the ashes at the nearest GOP headquarters.

  5. By November the cheese will stand alone.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

203 more replies

Participants

Avatar for brooklyndweller Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for cervantes Avatar for vonq Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for sniffit Avatar for thebigragu Avatar for lastroth Avatar for alyoshakaramazov1 Avatar for darcy Avatar for ronbyers Avatar for darrtown Avatar for mainemomma Avatar for jinnj Avatar for docd Avatar for lizzymom Avatar for michaelryerson Avatar for rhs1963 Avatar for drtv Avatar for jwbuho Avatar for rucleare Avatar for emiliano4 Avatar for kovie Avatar for mnnmnnm

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: