West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said Thursday that he disagreed with the decisions by fellow Republican governors in Texas and Mississippi to lift mask mandates, calling such steps unwise and reflective of a \u201cmacho\u201d mentality.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to be critical, but some people want to just move because it\u2019s the most politically correct thing that they can do,\u201d Justice told CNN\u2019s John King, when questioned about Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves each announcing the end of state mask mandates this week. \u201cIt becomes almost a macho thing… In West Virginia, we want to be cautious, we want to be safe, we want to be respectful of everybody\u2019s rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
Justice said he had not broached ending West Virginia\u2019s mask mandate with his medical team. He stressed that his state \u2015 which boasts one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the world\u00a0thanks to a strong rollout through coordination with local pharmacies and the National Guard \u2015 had listened to scientific experts and exercised caution regarding the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, we\u2019re going to do the smart thing in West Virginia,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The governor said he was not a fan of \u201ccrazy masks\u201d himself, but added, \u201cAs we continue to vaccinate more and more and more, we\u2019ll get rid of the mask.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know really what the big rush to get rid of the mask is, because these masks have saved a lot of lives,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd even the most confident person that doesn\u2019t want anything to do with the mask is still saying they saved lives. And so at the end of the day, I don\u2019t know what the rush is, and if we don\u2019t watch out, we can make some mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is not the first occasion that \u201cBig Jim\u201d Justice, a noted ally of former President Donald Trump, has differed from GOP colleagues on coronavirus-related issues. He also has been a vocal proponent of quickly passing President Joe Biden\u2019s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, which Republicans in Congress have opposed. In an interview last month with The New York Times, he argued that the U.S. needed to \u201cgo bold and go big\u201d on pandemic recovery efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been a business guy all my life, and I know that when you have a real problem, you can\u2019t cut your way out of the problem,\u201d Justice told the Times. \u201cToo often we try to skinny everything down and not fund it properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Justice won his first term in 2016 as a Democrat but quickly switched parties and aligned himself with Trump. He won a second term last November with almost 65% of the vote.<\/p>\n