Biden Can Still Navigate the Politics of Mask Mandates, But It Won’t Be Easy

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.

Told You So—It Was Way Too Soon to Lift COVID Mask Mandates

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.

The ruling does give Biden political cover, and if indeed COVID-19 cases go up due to the new variant—as we are witnessing in the U.K.—he can outsource the blame to an unqualified judge appointed by former President Donald Trump.

However, a majority of people in the U.S. actually support masking on public transportation according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs poll. Of those polled, 56 percent said they favor requiring masks, 24 percent were opposed, and 20 percent were undecided.

Karen Finney, a Democratic consultant, told me it’s imperative that President Biden maintain a “clear narrative” that gives individuals the best, most updated medical advice and information to keep themselves and their community safe. That—and not politics—should be “the guiding light” she said, blaming former President Trump and Republicans for initially politicizing masks and vaccines, costing countless lives.

“The CDC should stick to what’s good science, and the Biden Administration should communicate what is good science to the public,” Finney urged.

Tim Miller, who was Jeb Bush’s 2016 communications director and now writes for The Bulwark, agreed that President Biden will politically benefit from appearing decisive and in command over the issue, which sadly hasn’t been reflected when it comes to masks. However, Miller believes anything that restores a sense of normalcy would be a political gain for Biden in the current moment. “The reality is while the mandates have been dropped, life still just doesn’t feel normal for people: inflation, masks, staffing is short at places. All this leads to a sense that things are going badly and contributing to Biden’s low approval.”

That sense of gloom articulated by Miller is reflected in recent polls, in which the majority, unfortunately, doesn’t praise the Biden administration for the infrastructure bill or job growth due to rising gas prices and feelings of malaise. Perceptions, not facts, create political reality, and it’s a troubling one for Democrats.

DNC consultant Kurt Bardella, however, doesn’t worry about the political optics of this current conundrum because he believes, “realistically, by the time we get to November, no one is going to remember what happened here in April.” Bardella thinks the White House is “playing it right” by letting the CDC make the decision. “Agencies like the CDC need to remain apolitical and let facts and science be their guide.”

Unfortunately, the CDC has already compromised itself with its history of conflicting messages on masks.

“The CDC has mismanaged communications with the American people terribly and it has in part created this political problem for the President and the Democratic Party,” according to Matthew Cortland, a Senior Disability Fellow for Data For Progress. Last year, the CDC prematurely recommended removing masks right before the deadly Delta wave arrived and wreaked havoc across America. Last month, the CDC supported states easing mask restrictions, but now it’s urging masking again. No wonder people are confused.

For those who are immuno-suppressed, chronically ill or disabled, it seems that the CDC and elected officials are playing political football with their lives. The Disability Economic Justice Collaborative released a poll today which shows that only 1 in 3 disabled voters believe elected leaders in DC care about them.

“Politicians don’t tend to think of disabled people as a constituency and interest group they should serve,” Cortland told me. However, he stressed, “disabled voters are a voting bloc and there are quite literally tens of millions of us.”

Mask and Vaccine Mandates Are Gone, but COVID Is Still Here

They include people like my 5-year-old daughter who is a Stage-4 cancer survivor and has a liver transplant. I recently wrote about how our family was able to travel because of the airline mask mandates, which were a minor inconvenience, but allowed us to enjoy our first vacation in three years. The reality, unfortunately, is that many Americans are indeed “done” with COVID and care more about their comfort than the elderly, disabled, and immuno-suppressed.

Anat Shenker-Osorio, a political strategist and communications consultant, nonetheless believes this is still an opportunity for the Biden administration to unite Americans and use it as a launching pad to get more people vaccinated. Currently, only about 66 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, and only 30 percent of the population has received a booster dose, putting America behind most industrialized countries when it comes to vaccination rates. Shenker-Osorio told me messaging on vaccines and masks is an uphill challenge in part because public sentiment is mainly concerned right now about rising prices and not being able to make ends meet.

“That’s where their heads are at, and that’s where the discourse needs to be—and also the ever-present need to make clear that Trump and Republicans are an authoritarian faction,” said Shenker-Osorio, who also thinks Biden can tie it all together by acknowledging people’s suffering and hardships during this rare pandemic—while encouraging us to make smart, informed personal choices that will not only protect ourselves and our loved ones, but also help our fellow Americans.

Ultimately, it’s these basic safety precautions, which include masks and vaccines, that will help us get “over” the pandemic and mask mandates—but only if enough people choose to do it.

Facing a brutal midterm election season, the rest of us can only hope that the Biden administration doesn’t sacrifice public health and safety measures in a zero-sum political game, where an increase in COVID casualties is worth favorable poll numbers.

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