Right-wing radio host Sebastian Gorka, a former aide to President Donald Trump, described face masks aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus as “COVID burqas” on his show Tuesday.
Gorka, who reportedly is under consideration for a top role overseeing the Voice of America, agreed with a caller in California who’d labeled the face masks mandated by the state as “Democrat Islamo-Maoist masks.”
“You mean the COVID burqas, the COVID masks?” responded Gorka, who has a history of making offensive, anti-Islamic remarks. He added that there was “something inhuman” about the idea of covering the face.
“Not only does it dehumanize the individual in that interaction with another human being,” Gorka continued, making a reference to being challenged for not wearing a mask in the post office. “But also, it is, you’re right, an act of submission and as I said to that lady, clearly a Democrat voter in the post office who said, ‘Where’s your mask?’ I said, ‘My body my choice.’”
An anti-mask stance has become a billboard for some right-wingers in recent weeks, following President Donald Trump’s refusal to wear one. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people wear “cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain” and many states require them in public.
Check out Gorka’s comments here:
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