Thread by @RachelBitecofer

1. Correct- and that's bc in order to be a Republican you have to forgo the mask. You have to attend in-person events, often in crowded indoor venues with no social distancing at all. And no masks. This is the reality that Republicans are living in, whether they want to or not

https://twitter.com/KnightStooge77/status/1344276313167818754

2. This is essentially the argument that @GovChristie is making in his public service announcements- post COVID. That he felt pressured to conform to a Trump/WH-led "groupthink" that throws caution to the wind regarding the virus. That he knew going to the WH to the events he

3. was attending, where it was socially frowned upon to wear a mask, where you would be teased & belittled for doing so even though the events themselves were designed to intentionally defy all the COVID safety guidelines & best practices by intentionally cramming people together

4. indoors, physically touching each other. That it developed into a "dare you" kind of game which was also a sort of loyalty test. Were you in, or were you out? Nevermind the risk was death. And the rest of the Rep Party, watching these events on TV, took their cues from there

5. ask @RepRiggleman- he'll tell you. At events in VA, if you are masking and social distancing, you're losing. You might as well party switch! Even after Trump caught COVID. And so yes, already 4 Republican electeds have died playing this horrific game, that they are being

6. socially pressured to play. Countless staffers are endangering themselves, their families, to keep their jobs bc they are forced to play the game too. We don't have any idea how many staffers and/or their family members have paid with their lives but that there are some, of

7. this I have no doubt. And honestly, its hard to imagine it happening under ANY OTHER Rep pres. The entire posture towards COVID, which conditioned the entire response of about 40% of the public, is Trump-specific and not normal!!! Its the reason we're approaching 400K dead!