Matthew McConaughey Calls For Unity In The Battle Against COVID-19, Says It’s Not A Political Issue
Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey is calling for unity among Americans as the COVID-19 pandemic – and the government response to the virus – continues to divide citizens along political lines.
On Tuesday, McConaughey appeared on Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier to talk about how the novel coronavirus and the government lockdowns have transformed from a public health emergency to a heated political debate.
“I could feel that this united purpose we all have as Americans to beat this enemy and this virus, that purpose got hijacked by partisan politics,” McConaughey said. “The narrative became, if you want to go to work, you’re on the far right. If you don’t go to work, you want to stay home, you’re on the far left.
McConaughey noted that “even the mask wearing is getting politicized,” so now the narrative seems to be if you wear a mask you are liberal, and if you don’t wear a mask you are conservative. The actor says this just isn’t true.
Now, McConaughey says that Americans are fighting “two wars” because the virus has divided people based on politics. He believes that people are fighting one war against each other, and the other fight is with the virus.
The Interstellar star says if we focus on the fight against the virus, we will beat it. He explained that we have to remind ourselves this isn’t about politics, it’s about people. Right now, McConaughey believes that we have to take care of each other and we have a “collective purpose.”
@McConaughey went from sexiest man alive to most sensible man alive #COVID19 #PPE https://t.co/rQdBMXAIHX
— Ravi Parikh, MD MPH (@RaviParikhMD) May 13, 2020
McConaughey compared the fight against COVID-19 to World War II. He pointed out that that crisis came to us, and Americans were united in that purpose. But now, the “human factor” has started to split and two tribes are fighting against each other in partisan politics.
Matthew McConaughey says we don’t need partisan politics right now, and instead we need a collection. He described it as a “tug of war at the virus,” and added that “we need all hands on the rope.”
The actor also noted that practicing social distancing and wearing masks are just temporary Band-Aids to help out so science can “catch up.”
McConaughey’s Just Keep Livin’ Foundation has released a new PSA with the same unity message that urges Americans to drop the partisan politics so we can beat COVID-19.