Surgeon General Begs Fox News Viewers To Please Wear A Damn Mask

Fox News has created a monster it cannot control.

Surgeon General Jerome Adams stopped by "Fox & Friends" today in hopes of convincing viewers to wear masks, and to explain why he and other experts changed their minds on whether or not people should wear masks, an issue that's caused no small amount of confusion for the president and his supporters.

Adams's explanation for this, which the rest of us all understand at this point, was that they didn't realize that this coronavirus was different from other coronaviruses in that it is possible for someone who is asymptomatic to infect others on a large scale. "Once we realized that the science was different for this virus, we changed our recommendations." (Of course, there may be some BS in this answer, but that's mostly true. Also they were freaked out that healthcare workers wouldn't have the PPE they needed.)

Adams said the administration is behind mask-wearing, pointing out that even Trump wore a mask last week, as though pushing that point might inspire viewers to not be maskholes about this.

Fox & Friends 7/20/20 7AM | Fox News July 20, 2020    youtu.be 

Adams explained he opposes a federal mask mandate not because it isn't necessary for people to wear masks, but because a federal mandate would require federal enforcement, referencing how well "federal enforcement" has worked in Portland over the week. He's not wrong. Right now, we don't want to give police a new thing to go after people for. It's not a good time for that.

"Fox & Friends" host Steve Doocy, who is usually terrible, asked Adams to explain to viewers how quickly the virus would get under control if mask-wearing were universal, appearing enthusiastic about the idea of infections massively decreasing in just a month or month and a half, as Dr. Robert Redfield of the CDC has said it would. Adams said this was right, because the virus has an incubation period of two weeks.

Adams then issued a plea to Fox viewers to wear masks, assuring them no one is trying to take their freedoms and we all just want to get the virus under control:

"That's why I'm pleading with your viewers, I'm begging you, please understand that we are not trying to take away your freedoms when we say wear a face covering. We are not trying to take away your ability to go out when we say keep restaurant capacity under 50 percent. We are saying if we do these things, we can actually open and stay open. We can get back to school, to worship, to jobs. We can do this."

This is so sad. It's beyond quixotic — the people they are trying to reach have already made up their minds and will enjoy their "freedoms" right up until they can't anymore, on account of how they are attached to a ventilator.

Judging by this interview, it seems even the "Fox and Friends" gang is fed up with their audience's refusal to just freaking wear a piece of cloth over their faces while grocery shopping.

It is becoming clear, however, that Fox has lost control of the ship. If you look at the comments below the video on YouTube.

From a sage: "Cloth masks are like using a chain link fence to keep out a mosquito ", China virus = 0.125 microns Sage #2: If you are wearing a mask and can smell a fart, it will not stop COVID?? Sage #3: Conservative Momma blows out a candle wearing 3 different masks, they won't stop COVID. Bill Nye demonstrates he could not blow out a candle wearing the same 3 masks –he is a friend of Dr. Fauci and Dr. Robert Redfield of CDC??

A sage, indeed.

Here's the thing. Literally everyone on Fox News, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, even, could get together and do a "We Are The World" about how great mask-wearing is and how wearing them will reduce the rate of transmission. I am telling you right now, it wouldn't matter. For one, Trump is unhappy with the news station. If he's unhappy, his people are unhappy. Their loyalty is to him, first and foremost. For another, for many former Fox devotees, the station was merely a gateway drug and they have since moved onto the harder stuff. To them, Fox is simply the most "reasonable" of the mainstream media networks, but the people they really trust are the very far right conspiracy theory types with YouTube shows or on Twitter or on message boards. Fox has absolutely no power to reel them back if they go too far.

Fox created a monster and now even they cannot control that monster.

[ YouTube ]

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