Anti-facemaskism

Politicisation of Face Masks during COVID-19 in the Context of Trump’s Plutocratic Populism

Abstract

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a devastating impact around the world. The responses by government leaders around the world have been varied. While certain countries (for instance, Taiwan and New Zealand) excelled in their responses, the Presidency of Donald Trump will perhaps be best remembered because of its populist, anti-scientific, and denialist approach towards the pandemic. After providing a brief literature review that focuses on the academic literature on face masks, we show that Trump’s absurd responses to the pandemic were not unique amongst populists worldwide. Based on a qualitative analysis of Trump’s numerous false and misleading statements about COVID-19, we reconstruct his coronavirus and facemask responses that contributed to the U.S. having the highest coronavirus death toll worldwide. We conclude by highlighting the importance of teaching critical thinking and the careful evaluation of the trustworthiness of sources to avoid falling for fake news and populist propaganda.