Marco Rubio: ‘Stop with the mask fetish’

So far, Marco Rubio is favored for reelection.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio fired back Wednesday at the scores of people calling for mask mandates in Florida and beyond.

In a video posted to Twitter, the Republican Senator described the fixation as a “fetish.” 

He blasted those, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who are spinning their wheels on who to mask next.

“You’re not going to mask your way out of this pandemic,” Rubio said. “The only way out of this pandemic is to turn COVID into something no worse than a cold or flu and we have medicines that do that, it’s called a vaccine.”

Vaccines, Rubio suggested, are the nation’s best path forward.

But rather than “shame” or “coerce” the unvaccinated, Rubio said presenting facts and data is a better approach. 

“You talk to people as adults, as grownups,” Rubio said. “You present this information and you allow people in a free country to then make the best decision for themselves and for their families.”

Rubio’s video comes as Florida distinguishes itself as the epicenter of the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic. 

On Tuesday, Florida reported more than 11,515 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in one day.  

What’s more, the state has led the nation in the number of new COVID-19 cases, confirming 110,000 last week and more than 21,000 cases on Friday.

Rubio noted the vast majority of hospitalizations involve the unvaccinated. 

“What does common sense tell you?” Rubio probed. “It tells you if you’re vaccinated, you’re probably not going to get COVID, but if you do, you’re not going to get very sick.”

In many ways, Rubio’s remarks mirror those of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

On Tuesday, the Republican Governor criticized those who publicly blame the unvaccinated.

“With all due respect, I find that deplorable to blame a victim who ends up being hospitalized,” DeSantis said. “You don’t know their story. You don’t know what happened with that.”

Last week, DeSantis issued an executive order forbidding school mask requirements.

The pair have also blasted the media’s “hysteria” amid the summer surge of cases.