On Sunday morning, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows made it clear. “We are not going to control the pandemic,” said Meadows in a CNN appearance. It’s not just an admission of failure, it’s an abject surrender; a surrender whose price can be measured in hundreds of thousands of lives.
There is, however, one simple, effective action that could be taken: a national mask mandate. Repeated study and practical, on the ground results, show that universal wearing of masks could not just reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but actually drive the disease downward. It would not just “flatten the curve,” it would provide real, practical protection until safe, effective vaccines are widely available, and it provides that protection no matter what other regulations are, or aren’t, enacted.
If Trump won’t enact a national mask mandate, let’s elect people who will.
The problem is that Donald Trump is not about to institute such a mandate. He’s made it clear he’s not going to institute any federal restrictions, and not requiring masks, even as COVID-19 cases explode around him, is part of his signature brand. But there is a way to get the mask mandate and allow Trump to blame it on governors. That’s okay, because they can also accept the praise for saving America.
The key comes in how both seat belt laws, and raising the drinking age to 21, were put in place. Rather than just passing a straightforward federal law, legislation gave deadlines to states to pass and enforce their own requirements … or miss out on federal highway funds.
With a new stimulus package unlikely to pass before the election—because Mitch McConnell is absolutely willing to allow Americans to die to make sure nothing gets in the way of his Supreme Court packing dreams—there is a chance to make a future package do double duty. Yes, it should have new cash sent directly to every citizen. Yes it should have funds for cash-strapped cities and states. But it should also have a rider that says no one, either communities or individuals in a state, gets money unless a statewide mask mandate is in place.
By doing it this way, Trump can claim he’s “leaving it up to the states.” And he can even continue to hold all the maskless rallies he wants … if he can find a state to host them. His fragile ego can be preserved. So can lives. How the mandate happens can be genuinely up to states. Pass legislation. Have governors sign executive orders. It doesn’t matter. If people’s stimulus checks are on the line, it will happen fast.
When the rate of COVID-19 starts to drop, Trump will try to take credit. We’ll know better. And every legislator who voted for the package can rightfully run on how they saved American lives.