Republican Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio has embraced the Republican dismissal of any and all safety guidelines to prevent the spread of the pandemic that's killed over 650 thousand Americans.
Jordan has said that "real America" is "done" with COVID-19 despite the deadlier, more contagious Delta Variant wreaking havoc across the nation, especially in red states. He's said vaccine mandates are "un-American" despite a centuries-long history of mandatory inoculations, beginning with George Washington himself.
Now, Jordan is yet again invoking superficial patriotism in order to further politicize the pandemic.
On Monday, Jordan claimed there were "two Americas": one dominated by pandemic "hysteria" and another that goes to church, school, and restaurants, while "loving freedom".
In reality, many of the very states whose COVID policies Republicans have slammed, such as New York, have largely reopened with some guidelines—like vaccine passports—and been able to keep their positivity rates under five percent.
What's more, an unignorable number of the people living in "hysteria" that Jordan described are immunocompromised or have limited access to affordable healthcare. Even so, Republicans have repeatedly emphasized "personal responsibility" amid the pandemic. Jordan's characterization of those still staying home seems at odds with the belief that Americans can make individual choices regarding their own safety.
Social media users and even Jordan's own colleagues called him out on the tweet.
Some said Jordan was causing irreparable harm with his rhetoric.
Sadly, that doesn't seem to bother him.
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