The Biden administration is in a political bind over masks.
The president and top officials are trying to balance promoting life-saving safety precautions against placating an exhausted and divided country that is clamoring for “normalcy.”
The medical experts at the CDC recently said wearing a mask “remains necessary to protect the public health.” And Biden’s Justice Department on Wednesday announced it had filed an appeal against Florida Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle’s recent ruling, which struck down the public transportation mask mandate that was extended to May 3.
Judge Mizelle—a Trump appointee who received a “not qualified” rating from the American Bar Association—became a hero to the right-wing by ruling against the CDC’s recommendation, and clearly struck a nerve with many in the public. Major airlines, such as United and Delta, immediately responded by removing their mask mandates. This announcement prompted some passengers to wildly cheer, take off their masks in mid-flight, and shout, “Finally!”
President Joe Biden responded to the ruling with an unhelpful message that simultaneously undercut medical experts and members of his own Administration. He urged Americans to decide for themselves whether to wear masks. Dr. Ashish K. Jha, the administration’s coronavirus response coordinator, meanwhile, said he would still be wearing masks.
But a majority of Americans still have not received the booster shot, kids under 5 aren’t vaccinated, millions are immuno-suppressed and at risk, some still think the pandemic is a hoax, and others continue taking Ivermectin, green mist, and urine therapy instead of a life-saving vaccine.
Obviously, this is a hot, awkward mess, especially for an administration that can’t afford any political hiccups heading towards an unfavorable midterm election with low poll numbers, inflation, and a failure to deliver on big, bold promises thanks to a radicalized GOP and obstructionist Democrats like Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
In a sane world, this country would unite to save as many lives as possible during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. But this is America, where the right-wing has spread disinformation and weaponized masks and vaccines as part of its endless culture war.
As such, I reached out to several political strategists (of both parties) to ask how they think President Biden should politically navigate the ongoing masking issue.
Republican pollster and consultant Frank Luntz told me that Biden is “lucky” to receive this ruling from Judge Mizelle—who did for him what the CDC wouldn’t do to overturn the mask mandate. “Biden is smart enough to know that people no longer want to wear masks—but he couldn’t back away from public strategy,” Luntz wrote in an email.