MSNBC’s Chris Hayes appeared to be in favor of what he called a “truth and reconciliation commission” for those opposed to COVID-19 mask wearing.
What are the details?
Hayes’ declaration Monday came in response to mini-flurry of tweets that started with a question from NBC News’ Michael Beschloss, who criticized President Donald Trump’s brief Sunday drive after his positive coronavirus test:
“Why is a sick President riding in an SUV waving to supporters outside Walter Reed, jeopardizing the Secret Service agents inside the car with him?” he asked.
With that, conservative activist Matt Schlapp shot back with a question for Beschloss:
“So masks don’t work? I’m so confused,” Schlapp noted, a reference to the fact that Trump was wearing a mask during the drive.
And then Hayes took the battle to another level, slapping Schlapp for his tweet to Beschloss:
“The most humane and reasonable way to deal with all these people, if we survive this, is some kind of truth and reconciliation commission,” Hayes tweeted, presumably in reference to those who aren’t in favor of masks or question their efficacy.
What was the reaction?
As you can probably guess, Hayes’ left-wing comrades seemed just as enthusiastic about harsh treatment for those who don’t abide by mask-wearing — among them famously anti-Trump conservative Bill Kristol: “How about truth and no reconciliation?”
Indeed others agreed:
- “I’d settle for marching them off a pier. That’s the truth and reconciliation they deserve. (But, seriously, in our reality-denying country, would any of Trump’s people *acknowledge* the truth, never mind reconcile to it?)” one user tweeted.
- “Somebody should look into de-programming after it’s over,” another user wrote. “These GOP Congress people out here cheering him on when he’s obviously in respiratory distress is very disturbing. I will despise Donald Trump till my last day on this earth. It didn’t have to be like this.”
- “There is no reconciliation. People at this point who don’t understand masks as a safety measure are either incurably ignorant or bad faith actors,” another user wrote. “A truth and reckoning commission would be more useful.”
But others pushed back against Hayes’ words:
- “So you want a literal Orwellian Ministry of Truth?” one user asked.
- “Will there be camps?” another user wondered.
- “Answer the question Chris. Do they work? MI has had a mandate since July, and our cases are going up,” another commenter declared. “The obvious answer is they don’t work. They’re your security blanket. That’s it.”
