WV Gov. Justice: TX, MS Going Maskless a ‘Macho Thing’

Governor Jim Justice (R-WV) said Thursday on CNN’s “Inside Politics” that Govs. Greg Abbott  (R-TX) and Tate Reeves (R-MS) scrapping mask mandates was “a macho thing.”

Anchor John King said, “You had an executive order last month, governor. You’re considering additional relaxation of some of the restrictions, but there is still a requirement for face coverings in West Virginia, in most places, especially indoors in crowds. Do you think it’s time to drop the mask mandate, or do you think the president is right?”

Justice said, “Well, to be honest with you, John, I don’t want this to become a political football. I don’t want to be critical, but some people want to just move because it’s the most politically correct thing they can do. It becomes almost a macho thing and everything. In West Virginia, we wanted to be cautious, safe, respectful of everybody’s rights and everything. With all that, we’ve done the right thing all the way through this thing. I mean, you know, if you step back and really look, first in the nation to test our nursing homes, first in the nation to get all our nursing homes vaccinated, first leading the nation in the administration of the vaccine. It goes just on, and on, and on.”

He continued, “We’ve been cautious, we’ve been bold, but we’ve been cautious. I’m not going to throw mud on either side and everything, and I’m not going to dance like a politician, because I’m not that. But at the end of the day, we’re going to do the smart thing in West Virginia. We’re not just going to do what’s politically correct.”

Justice added, “We have not had a discussion with my medical team in terms of lifting the mask mandate. I am hoping we can get rid of these crazy masks because we all know we don’t want to wear the masks. That’s all there is to it. If we continue to vaccinate more and more, we’ll get rid of the mask. But I don’t know really the big rush to get rid of the masks is because these masks saved a lot of lives.”

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