“The Biden administration wants every American to wear a mask. Doesn’t matter if you’ve been vaccinated. Even if you’ve been vaccinated, they say you got to wear a mask,” Cruz said in the video, which featured news clips of the CDC’s controversial guidance recommending fully vaccinated people to wear masks “if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.” The CDC is also recommending children and staff wear masks in school regardless of vaccination status.
“This is, not to put too fine a point on it, crap. This isn’t science,” Cruz said, adding there should be “no COVID mandates.”
“No vaccine mandates. The government has no business forcing you to take this vaccine. No mask mandates and no vaccine passports,” he continued.
While the Texas Republican said “vaccines work” and acknowledged that he has been vaccinated, he emphasized that it was a “personal choice.”
“That’s a personal choice that you can make for your life and your family. We believe in freedom. We believe in individual responsibility. You can make this choice,” he continued before mocking Democrats on Capitol Hill for engaging in “Kabuki theater.”
“Just about everyone’s been vaccinated, and yet they’re putting on their masks to show just how submissive and compliant they are to this new government edict. It doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “We can take common-sense steps to defeat COVID-19. That’s a good thing.”
“But giving up our freedom to over-controlling government bureaucrats who want to shut down our schools, shut down our businesses, shut down our churches, and shut down our lives, the Democrats have done of that this year,” he added:
No more giving up our freedom to over-controlling government bureaucrats who want to shut down our schools, shut down our businesses, and shut down our lives! pic.twitter.com/brmllVnxYE
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 2, 2021
Last week, CDC director Rochelle Walensky made headlines after stating the Biden administration is “looking into” a federal coronavirus vaccine mandate.
“That’s something that I think the administration is looking into,” she said when asked if she was “for” mandating a vaccine on a federal level.
“It’s something that I think we’re looking to see approval of from the vaccine. Overall, I think in general, I am all for more vaccination. But, I have nothing further to say on that except that we’re looking into those policies,” she continued.
She later clarified her remarks following the backlash, claiming she was “referring to mandates by private institutions and portions of the federal government.”
“There will be no federal mandate,” she added:
.@BerkeleyJr To clarify: There will be no nationwide mandate. I was referring to mandates by private institutions and portions of the federal government. There will be no federal mandate.
— Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH (@CDCDirector) July 30, 2021
Last week, President Joe Biden announced vaccine rules for federal workers, requiring them to prove they have been vaccinated or remain subject to mask mandates and vigorous testing protocols.
