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On Wednesday, Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX) was supposed to head with President Donald Trump on Air Force One to Texas, where Trump is holding a fundraiser.
Plans rapidly changed after Gohmert—a vocal supporter of the President—tested positive for the virus ahead of meeting with him.
Gohmert has previously called fear of the virus and subsequent precautions "wishy-washy," and has routinely resisted wearing a mask in the Capitol building. According to one of Gohmert's own aides, all employees were required to work in-person in the office and they were berated for wearing masks.
Gohmert—who is not currently experiencing symptoms—hasn't changed his tune about wearing a mask.
In fact, Gohmert, astonishingly, is saying he thinks he may have contracted the virus from the mask itself.
Watch below.
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) thinks his mask may have given him COVID: “I might've put some of the virus onto the mask and breathed it in."pic.twitter.com/sFodPVjnIO
— The Recount (@therecount) July 29, 2020
Gohmert said:
"I can't help but wonder if by keeping a mask on and keeping it in place, if I might have put some germs, some of the virus, onto the mask and breathed it in. I don't know, but I got it. We'll see what happens from here."
He repeated the claim in another interview.
GOP @RepLouieGohmert, who just tested positive for COVID-19 tells a reporter he blames wearing a mask for his result: "I can't help but think that if I hadn't been wearing a mask so much in the last 10 days or so, I really wonder if I would have gotten it." pic.twitter.com/S6l2xU2oiL
— The American Independent (@AmerIndependent) July 29, 2020
Gohmert said:
"I can't help but think that if I hadn't been wearing a mask so much in the last 10 days or so, I really wonder if I would have gotten it. But I know, y'know, moving the mask around, getting it set just right, I'm bound to put some virus on the mask that I sucked in. That's most likely what happened."
Gohmert stressed that he was not one of the three congressmen admonished by House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) for not wearing a mask in Tuesday's hearing for Attorney General William Barr.
Videos show that Gohmert took his mask off multiple times during the hearing and even walked closely with Barr outside of the hearing. Neither of the men were wearing masks.
People found Gohmert's assertion that he got the virus from his mask absurd.
So he thinks he somehow touched COVID-19, got it on his mask and breathed it in and that is more likely than having breathed it in a maskless, non-socially distanced moment? People will go to very far lengths to prove that masks don't work.
— Patricia Wilson (@pmw1243) July 29, 2020
Insecure people have to be right; they commonly are incapable of taking responsibility or admitting mistakes. That means they don't learn/grow. It's from mistakes that we improve. That level of self doubt can be dangerous for anyone in a leadership role; including the Oval Office
— BKAY1224 (@BKAY1224) July 29, 2020
Dear Lord, help this poor lost soul find the strength to fight his way out of the paper bag holding the tiny bit of sense you gave him. Bless his heart.
(NB: Yes, I'm from the South.)
— edgery Wear Your Damn Mask (@edgery) July 29, 2020
So he gave it to himself.
That's a new one in germ theory.
— Brian Smith (@bsmithoakland) July 29, 2020
Unless he's using random masks that he's picked up off the ground, I'm pretty sure this isn't the case.
— Mike McDade (@zerixismike) July 29, 2020
Do these people have any idea how to tell the truth?
— TheExMasMiracle (@GrandMasterMRB) July 29, 2020
Gohmert's diagnosis in the context of his dismissal of the virus generated a bevy of strong reactions.
Let's be honest about why Louie Gohmert made his stunning statement below. Because @GOP & @realDonaldTrump believed masks would show #Covid19 is a highly contagious, serious virus, which ran counter to their efforts to downplay the virus. @POTUS & GOP put politics over health. https://t.co/M51HlnkYpM
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) July 29, 2020
Louie Gohmert says he caught the virus because he wore a mask. I can't.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) July 29, 2020
I want to wish @replouiegohmert a full & speedy recovery.
When individuals refuse to take the necessary precautions it puts everyone at risk. I've regularly instructed all Members to wear their masks and hope this is a lesson by all my colleagues. https://t.co/WstJuAW9BG
— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) July 29, 2020
Astonishingly, Gohmert gathered with all of his staff in person to tell them that he'd contracted the virus.