Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) thinks masks only need to be worn if someone is there to catch you without one, according to remarks caught on video during a Detroit community event.
The "Squad" member told attendees at the event that she only wore a mask because a "Republican tracker" was filming her. After doing an event with Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary Marcia Fudge on Monday, Tlaib conversed with a maskless attendee who mistakenly thought the Democrat scolded him for being "the one unmasked guy" in the area. Tlaib responded by insisting she only wore a mask because a "Republican tracker" was recording the exchange.
"Oh, no, oh, not you!" Tlaib said as she pulled her mask away from her face. "No, no, no—I'm just wearing it because I've got a Republican tracker here."
Just weeks before the event, the "Squad" member faced criticism when she danced maskless at a crowded, indoor wedding in Dearborn, Mich. The video
surfaced on the same day Tlaib
slammed Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) for urging his followers to "resist" Centers for Disease Control and Prevention masking guidelines. Tlaib attended the wedding days after the CDC recommended wearing masks indoors regardless of vaccination status in local areas with "high" community transmission—a categorization that applied to Dearborn at the time.
Tlaib, who did not return a request for comment, is far from the only Democrat to ignore her own rhetoric on masks. Fellow "Squad" member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) masked up for an August photo with liberal activists but
Quickly Removed her face covering after the picture was taken. One month prior, Virginia gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe (D.) violated federal regulations when he refused to wear a mask on an Amtrak train. McAuliffe has pledged to maintain the state's mask mandate in schools and told voters in September to "follow the CDC guidelines."