Ted Cruz Celebrates CDC Changing Mask Guidelines, Issues Fiery Statement
Noting that Democratic Party politics on COVID-19 have finally been illuminated by a ray of science, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas on Thursday slammed the Biden administration for politicizing the fight against the disease.
On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance that said vaccinated people do not need to wear masks when indoors or outdoors.
Cruz was asked about the CDC’s about-face during an appearance on the Fox News show “America Reports.”
“It’s about damn time that we should be following the science and not playing politics,” Cruz said.
“And from the beginning of COVID, there’s been far too much politics connected to it. Look, when it comes to masks, I’ve never understood the extreme on either side. I’ve never been one of those people who said, ‘Never wear a mask.’ I would wear a mask on an airplane, when I went to a grocery store, particularly when the pandemic was raging. But once I got my vaccine, once other people were getting vaccinated, I stopped wearing masks.”
Cruz said masks were one facet of the Biden administration’s emphasis on politics over science.
“And I gotta say, I think Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been playing politics with COVID-19, and they’ve been playing politics by keeping schools shut down. The science is absolutely clear. Kids should be in school, in person today. The science is unequivocal on that,” he said.
“But they also are playing politics on masks, that it never made any sense once you were vaccinated to wear a mask.”
Cruz argued that Biden and Harris contributed to the reluctance of some Americans to be vaccinated.
“And unfortunately, Biden and Harris and the administration kept saying wear a mask, wear a mask, wear a mask, even if you’re vaccinated. That discouraged a lot of people from getting the vaccine,” he said.
The Texas Republican encouraged every American to get the vaccine so that they too could ditch their masks.
“So I think the message people ought to hear is: Get the vaccine, stop the spread of the disease. It ought to be voluntary, but you should be encouraged to get the vaccine,” he said.
“And one of the great virtues when you get the vaccine, you can take the damn mask off and return to regular life. That should encourage millions more people to choose to get the vaccine.”
Some Republicans teed off on Biden for the timing of the CDC’s announcement.
“Why today? The science hasn’t changed,” Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee tweeted Thursday.
Why today? The science hasn’t changed.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) May 13, 2021
“While the new mask guidance is encouraging, the CDC and my Far Radical Left colleagues only chose to do this to distract from the consequences of catastrophic policy decisions that have been heard around the world,” Republican Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona said, according to Fox.
“Inflation is rising, the Middle East is in shambles, the working class can’t fill up their gas tanks, our border is being overrun and the Biden Administration’s leadership is nowhere to be found.”
“I welcome the relaxed CDC guidance, but presidents need to walk and chew gum at the same time,” Republican Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia said.
“The White House has not shown great vigor in handling our other immediate national challenges, such as the cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline. I think the American people recognize that fact despite the CDC announcement, which merely caught up to the science on vaccines.”
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