Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday that government experts should have to show evidence to back up edicts forcing people to continue to wear face masks after they received the coronavirus vaccine.
Paul challenged Dr. Anthony Fauci directly during a recent Senate hearing, saying that wearing a mask after receiving the coronavirus vaccine amounted to “theater.” He joined Fox News’ Neil Cavuto to talk about that exchange and his continued criticisms of Fauci and other experts. (RELATED: ‘The Evidence Is Zero’: Rand Paul Says Fauci Is Lying About Masks ‘Because He Doesn’t Believe We Are Smart Enough To Make Decisions’)
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“Senator, your view on the mask thing is when you’ve said of Dr. Fauci, ‘it isn’t about science, it’s about submission.’ What did you mean by that?” Cavuto asked.
“You know, I think the burden should be on government, if the government is going to tell you can’t go anywhere if you’re wearing a mask, they should tell you why and present the evidence,” Paul replied. He went on to argue that Fauci, when questioned, had presented conjecture rather than evidence
“The government needs to prove and show me a study that says that those people are still transmitting the disease and that they’re a problem to public health. What Dr. Fauci said is they might be. He sort of, well, what if they could spread the disease? Well, that sounds to me like conjecture,” Paul added. “You could look at Dr. Fauci and say what if the Spanish flu comes back? Shouldn’t we wear a mask every year for the rest of our lives because some day the Spanish flu’s gonna come back? That’s not science, it’s sort of emotionalism and fearmongering. Dr. Fauci needs to put up or shut up.”
Cavuto asked Paul how he felt about masks in general, and Paul said he believed it should be a choice left to the people.
“I’m unequivocally for freedom, for a free society. Each individual would make their own decisions,” he said, noting that those who were at increased risk might prefer to wear masks to protect themselves.
Paul clarified that, if Fauci were to present evidence that the vaccines or prior infection were not effective barriers against a new variant of the virus, he would be happy to reassess his position.
“So far all he’s telling me is his opinion. Really their opinion is, look, they had another one of these vaccine doctors on television, he was like, ‘Oh, it’s about civility.’ Civility is not science,” Paul continued. “For goodness sakes, show us some evidence to back up the mandates.”
“So what do you do when you and your wife go to a restaurant?” Cavuto pressed, noting that many restaurants required masks when patrons were not eating or drinking.
“We do what we’re forced to do to live in Dr. Fauci’s world,” Paul said, concluding, “It’s not based on science. It’s all emotionalism. We’re going to be here forever if we listen to these people. The simple fact is if you’re vaccinated, two weeks out from your second one, throw your mask away and do what you want. Dr. Fauci is overkill on all of this.”
“You don’t like Dr. Fauci, do you?” Cavuto challenged.
“Nah, I just think he’s a government bureaucrat,” Paul replied with a laugh.