The decision to wear a mask in public is becoming a political statement a moment to pick sides in a brewing culture war over containing the coronavirus.
While not yet as loaded as a "Make America Great Again" hat, the mask is increasingly a visual shorthand for a debate pitting those willing to follow health officials' guidance and cover their faces against those who feel it violates their freedom or buys into a threat they think is overblown.
That resistance is fuelled by some of the same people who object to other virus restrictions. The push back has been stoked by President Donald Trump he didn't wear a mask during a Tuesday appearance at a facility making them and some other Republicans, who have flouted rules and questioned the value of masks. It's a development that has worried experts as Americans are increasingly returning to public spaces.
"There's such a strong culture of individualism that, even if it's going to help protect them, people don't want the government telling them what to do, said Linsey Marr, a Virginia Tech engineering professor with experience in airborne transmission of viruses.
Inconclusive science and shifting federal guidance have no doubt muddied the political debate. Health officials initially said wearing masks was unnecessary, especially amid a shortage of protective materials. But last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began recommending wearing cloth masks in public to prevent transmitting the virus to others.
Whether Americans are embracing the change may depend on their political party. While most other protective measures like social distancing get broad bipartisan support, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they're wearing a mask when leaving home, 76 per cent to 59 per cent, according to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The split is clear across several demographics that lean Democratic. People with college degrees are more likely than those without to wear masks when leaving home, 78 per cent to 63 per cent. African Americans are more likely than either white people or Hispanic Americans to say they're wearing masks outside the home, 83 per cent to 64 per cent and 67 per cent, respectively.
The notable exception is among older people, a group particularly vulnerable to serious illness from the virus. Some 79 per cent of those age 60 and over were doing so compared with 63 per cent of those younger.
"Who knows what the truth is on masks? asked Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who, unlike some of his colleagues, went without a mask Tuesday in the Senate. Paul already contracted the virus and believes he is no longer contagious. His comments were a long way from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's moral argument for the mask a few days earlier.
"How people cannot wear masks that to me is even disrespectful, Cuomo said. You put so many people at risk because you did not want to wear a mask?" Effectiveness aside, politicians of both parties are clued into the powerful symbolism of the mask, and many Americans take their cues from the president.
Trump was barefaced when he spoke to masked journalists, workers and Secret Service agents at the Arizona factory Tuesday. He later said he briefly wore a mask backstage but took it off because facility personnel told him he didn't need it.
But Trump has been mask averse for weeks. Within minutes of the CDC announcing its updated mask recommendations, he said, I don't think that I'm going to be doing it.
Trump has told advisers that he believes wearing one would send the wrong message, according to one administration and two campaign officials not authorised to publicly discuss private conversations. The president said doing so would make it seem like he is preoccupied with health instead of focused on reopening the nation's economy which his aides believe is the key to his reelection chances in November.
Moreover, Trump, who is known to be especially cognizant of his appearance on television, has also told confidants that he fears he would look ridiculous in a mask and the image would appear in negative ads, according to one of the officials.
"It's a vanity thing, I guess, with him, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said of Trump on MSNBC. "You'd think, as the president of the United States, you would have the confidence to honour the guidance he's giving the country.
That's left those around him unsure of how to proceed. White House aides say the president hasn't told them not to wear them, but few do.
Some Republican allies have asked Trump's campaign how it would be viewed by the White House if they were spotted wearing a mask, according to two campaign officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorised to discuss private conversations.
Meanwhile, Trump's reelection campaign has ordered red Trump-branded masks for supporters and is considering giving them away at events or in return for donations. But some advisers are concerned the president will later sour on the idea, according to one campaign official.
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