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I'm not sure if the president helped launch this particular battle in the "culture war" or was just a cheerleader as usual The US government reversed itself on

I'm not sure if the president helped launch this particular battle in the "culture war" or was just a cheerleader as usual The US government reversed itself on masks and recommended them before the rest of the English-speaking world. The WHO only endorsed masks a few weeks ago. I don't like Trump, but these are facts. It seems to have been politicized after Mike Pence visited the Mayo Clinic, and didn't wear a mask, and then Trump was then pushed on the issue, and reacted characteristically. If Pence had set a good example and worn a mask, or of there hadn't been a huge uproar about him not wearing a mask, would the issue have turned into a front in the culture war?

newacct583 6y ago
> The WHO only endorsed masks a few weeks ago. I don't like Trump, but these are facts. That's not facts, that's spin. From your phrasing, it sounds like you're saying that prior to a "few weeks ago" that the WHO policy was somehow anti-mask. It wasn't, even in January. Their policy was always that PPE should be reserved for health care workers due to scarcity, and in a few (A FEW) instances their wording of that recommendation was poor and might plausibly imply that masks don't work. No expert ever interpreted the WHO policy the way you people insist on doing. And at this point this insistence is just pathological.
- thoraway3030 6y ago
  and in a few (A FEW) instances their wording of that recommendation was poor and might plausibly imply that masks don't work. Until Zeynep Tufekci's New York Times oped, the consensus was indeed that "masks don't work" for Covid. I documented numerous instances on social media of healthcare professionals insulting and belittling those who wore masks based on what you describe as "poor wording". Here is a Time article from 4 March that sums up the expert consensus on masks at that point (in fact it has direct quotes from experts, including an infectious diseases professor, a leading psychologist, and the Surgeon General): that masking was "superstitious", didn't work and claiming that wearing a a mask equated to knocking on wood, or not walking under a ladder. https://time.com/5794729/coronavirus-face-masks/ https://time.com/5794729/coronavirus-face-masks/
standardUser 6y ago
Trump has consistently made a point to not wear a mask, even when the places he was visiting specifically asked him to. Trump has also mentioned several times that he thinks masks should be optional. He has unequivocally and undeniable undermined harmed efforts to promote make mask wearing, and continues to do so.

newacct583 6y ago

> The WHO only endorsed masks a few weeks ago. I don't like Trump, but these are facts. That's not facts, that's spin. From your phrasing, it sounds like you're saying that prior to a "few weeks ago" that the WHO policy was somehow anti-mask. It wasn't, even in January. Their policy was always that PPE should be reserved for health care workers due to scarcity, and in a few (A FEW) instances their wording of that recommendation was poor and might plausibly imply that masks don't work. No expert ever interpreted the WHO policy the way you people insist on doing. And at this point this insistence is just pathological.

thoraway3030 6y ago
and in a few (A FEW) instances their wording of that recommendation was poor and might plausibly imply that masks don't work. Until Zeynep Tufekci's New York Times oped, the consensus was indeed that "masks don't work" for Covid. I documented numerous instances on social media of healthcare professionals insulting and belittling those who wore masks based on what you describe as "poor wording". Here is a Time article from 4 March that sums up the expert consensus on masks at that point (in fact it has direct quotes from experts, including an infectious diseases professor, a leading psychologist, and the Surgeon General): that masking was "superstitious", didn't work and claiming that wearing a a mask equated to knocking on wood, or not walking under a ladder. https://time.com/5794729/coronavirus-face-masks/ https://time.com/5794729/coronavirus-face-masks/

standardUser 6y ago

Trump has consistently made a point to not wear a mask, even when the places he was visiting specifically asked him to. Trump has also mentioned several times that he thinks masks should be optional. He has unequivocally and undeniable undermined harmed efforts to promote make mask wearing, and continues to do so.